Rising Crows
by kimmyluvschu
Summary: There were three things she loved in middle school: her family, her boyfriend, and volleyball. After Kaori's second year of middle school came to a close she was forced to leave one of the three behind only to return a year and a half later a new person. Her silence will be broken and things may never be the same again. Can she rise up once again from where she fell?
1. Chapter 1

**If you didn't notice before, this will be a HinataxOC fanfic.**

 **Things will NOT match up perfectly with either the anime or manga. Some things may be changed or altered for the sake of the story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything, but my OC's.**

* * *

Two middle school students donning Yukigaoka Junior High uniforms were standing in the middle of a park.

The last day of their second year had just ended, meaning vacation had begun. The students were of opposite gender with the girl towering a little taller than the boy.

The girl took the boy's left hand into the both of hers. Sadness and regret filled the young girl's light brown eyes as she looked down at the ball of hands she made. She knew she couldn't let the boy see how she was really doing. Having him see would only make things more difficult.

"I'm sorry… Shoyo-kun… I'm breaking up with you," the girl said with a voice as soft as silk. Her hair was tied back into two long, thin braids that fell down to her butt. Her bangs went up to her eyebrows, but due to the angle she was looking down to the floor at, her eyes were hidden from the boy's view. The girl's red glasses began to slowly slip down the bridge of her nose due to gravity.

"…What?" the boy asked as if he didn't hear the girl correctly.

The couple's grip tightened simultaneously as if to hold onto the final moments they could be together. The girl sucked in a deep breath, regretting what she was about to do next.

She sent a silent prayer to any higher being listening to grant her the strength for the worst decision she would ever make in her life.

"I'm leaving you, Shoyo-kun! I can't be tied down by someone like you. I need to be able to spread my own wings in Japan. Being with you long-distance would just be a burden." With that said the girl retracted her hands and ran.

The left behind boy was frozen in shock. He wanted to go after her and demand a better explanation. He wanted to hold onto her and never let her go, but something was holding him back. It was as if fate had another destiny in store for the two.

Despite the pain her heart was in and the voice in her head telling her not to turn around, she did. She turned and saw the small figure of the boy she might always love for as long as she lived. A part of her wanted to run back to him and take it all back, but she knew in some weird way that this was how things should be. That didn't mean she didn't want him to run after her.

Tears that she fought back for the entire day fell as she continued to run away from her now ex-boyfriend. She promised herself not to look back again. She didn't want to remember the expression her beloved had any more than she already had to when she broke his heart to set him free.

* * *

 **A Year and A Half Later**

 **Kaori's POV-**

 _Today is the day…_

"Kao, breakfast is ready! You can't be late to your first day of school! You'll get behind!" my mother called from the foot of the stairs.

"School already started, Mama! I'm technically already behind!" I shouted back as I quickly slipped on my new school uniform which consisted of a white dress shirt, a tan sweater vest, a dark navy blazer, and a gray skirt. I had brown combat boots, which were currently downstairs, and wore black thigh-high socks.

I stashed my new white and green indoor shoes into my backpack and took one last look in the mirror before I rushed down the stairs, nearly slipping, to the kitchen. I ruffled my younger brother's hair, earning a growl from him, and fell into my seat at the kitchen table.

"Should I just drive you two to school today? What if you guys get lost? It's been awhile since we've been in the area. You two probably don't remember the routes."

"Okaa-san, you're being too clingy," my younger brother complained as he shoved a piece of his pancakes down his throat.

"Nao is right," I said, backing up my brother. "I'm even walking Nao to school since he has a bad habit of getting lost."

"Oi!" Nao shouted at me.

"That's why I'm worried…," my mother admitted. "Kao, it was easier when you went to school with your brother at Yukigaoka."

I finished eating and put my utensils down loudly. "Well," I said, getting up. "We can't be dwelling on the past now can we?" I left in silence as Nao followed suit.

In all honesty, I was not looking forward to my first day at Karasuno High.

* * *

 **Kageyama's POV-**

The class settled down and I looked to the back of the room to see Hinata already asleep, tired from morning volleyball practice.

 _Idiot._

I wasn't entirely interested in what was going on, but class started differently than usual today.

"We have a new student joining us today," the teacher said, writing a name on the board.

 _Saito…Kaori?_

Right when I decided to follow Hinata and take a nap, the door opened. A girl walked in with brown hair that flowed down to her mid-back and bangs that were swept mainly to the right with any leftover hairs on the left side of her face being tucked behind her ear. Everything about her appearance and the way she held herself screamed out _elegant_ , but I didn't look at what was on her outside as much as the inside. Something about her seemed off, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

The girls were complimenting the new girl as guys were silently cheering amongst one another. I didn't understand their intense interest in this girl other than the rush of getting someone new. It's like when you get a new shirt and you want to wear it as soon as possible as often as you can.

"Good morning, my name is Saito Kaori. Please take care of me!" The new girl bowed and a chorus of people saying _cute_ began.

"Saito-san, why don't you sit next to Kageyama-san over there by the window," the teacher said. I froze when everyone in class quieted down and started at me, minus Hinata of course. Normally I wouldn't care, but now I am getting mixed signals from my classmates.

My eyes made contact with my new seat partner. I broke contact first to see if there really was no one sitting next to me.

 _Empty…_

I don't know why I would try to make myself believe someone has been occupying the empty seat next to me until now. I was not in the mood for introductions since I would most likely make a fool out of myself.

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

I made my way to my new seat. I looked at my seat partner, questioning silently why he was looking at my desk as if I was taking someone else's territory.

I shook it off and smiled at him, holding my hand out to shake his. "Nice to meet you Kageyama-san, please take care of me."

"Mm," was all I got from him as he turned to start ignoring me and the lessons for the entire time until lunch came around.

I was not as behind as I thought I would be going to a new school and having to catch up with their curriculum. My classes now are more behind than my old classes. I feigned paying attention to the lesson as I scribbled down lists of meaningless things to meaningful things.

I didn't get a good look at my classmates. I was too afraid to when I was in the front of the room.

 _What a mess I am… Things are supposed to be different this time around._

The bell rang and I left the room before I could be swarmed by my very eager classmates or pulled to the side by my teacher concerning how comfortable I was with my new surroundings. I wandered the halls, ignoring the whispers and stares, but taking mind of the classrooms, stairs, and trees. I found a nice bench next to one of the gyms in the school. It was quiet and any students nearby were all studying in silence.

* * *

 **Michimiya Yui's POV-**

I dashed out of my classroom as soon as the lunch bell rang.

"Whoa! Hold on there, Michimiya," my friend Sawamura yelled, grabbing my arm. "Where are you off to in a hurry?"

Sawamura was a volleyball captain just like me, so he should understand my urgency.

"There's a new girl from Hakuryo Academy! Do you know what rank their girls' volleyball team is in all of Japan?! It's one of the top three!"

"And you're going to recruit her?"

"Of course I am! She's a valuable asset for the girls' team!"

After wasting time on Sawamura, I continued my search for the new girl. I had no leads on what she looked like or her name, so I started my search off in the first years' area, asking students if they knew anything.

"The new girl? Her name is Saito Kaori. I think I saw her near the second gymnasium," a random girl told me.

"Thank you!" I left for the second gym and kept my eyes open for any signs of Saito Kaori.

 _She could be anyone… Let's see, if I was a new student, where would I go?_

I sighed.

 _I would be in class getting to know my classmates._

"Ah!"

 _If I wasn't getting to know anyone, I would have no one to be with…_

I locked my eyes on a girl who was sitting alone, reading a book on a bench. I bet my rank as Captain that that was who I've been looking for.

"Hello! You're Saito Kaori, right?"

The girl I was speaking to flinched and held her arms up defensively at the surprise I gave her. "Y-Yes!"

I gasped happily and grabbed her free hand in mine. "My name is Michimiya Yui, from class 3-1."

"Nice to meet you, Michimiya-senpai," Saito said, smiling politely.

"Ah! C-Cute!" I yelled embracing Saito as she wiggled frantically as a reflex from my surprise hug. I let go of her and looked her over. "I've heard that you played volleyball at your old school. When you were in your last year of middle school, you were placed in a high school team, right?"

Saito's face scrunched up slightly with unease. "Y…Yes, I was a player."

I bowed. "Please join the girls' volleyball team! I know you're still adjusting to your surroundings here, but what better way to acquaint yourself with everyone than to join a team sports club?"

Saito frowned. "I'm sorry." She gathered her things and stood up. "I may have been a player in the past, but I put that behind me now…" As she was walking away I caught a glimpse of remorse in her facial features.

I cupped my hands around my mouth and called out to her. "I won't give up! I'll ask you every day if I have to!"

I had a hunch about Saito Kaori, but I couldn't be too sure.

* * *

 **Hinata's POV-**

After successfully using the bathroom, I was proudly making my way back to class before the bell rang. I wasn't paying much attention to my surroundings and bumped into someone.

"Ah, sorry!" I said, scratching the back of my head as the person I bumped into corrected their balance.

"It's alright. I should have been more caref-"

I looked at the girl I bumped into, wondering why they didn't finish their sentence.

The look in her eyes was full of dread, but it quickly washed away as she bowed to me and hurried off to her class. Something about her looked so familiar, but I couldn't place a name on her face. I shook it off, thinking it was just a student from one of the other classes.

My heart felt heavy for some odd reason, but that was probably because I wasn't in the gym spiking balls. Just thinking about practice made me all giddy.

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

 _Dammit. I can't do this. I can't._

I sat down on the toilet, rubbing my temples.

 _What were the odds that he would be here and in my class?_

I straightened my back and took in a deep breath.

 _No… I deserve this… This is my punishment for my sins…my mistakes…and lies…_

After taking a few minutes to compose myself in the bathroom, I hurried to class before I would be late.

 _I'll pretend that nothing happened…he has his own life now. I shouldn't burden him. As far as he seems to realize, we're complete strangers…_

I made haste to my seat and took out my books just in time for the bell.

* * *

 **Hinata's POV-**

"Saito-san, can you come up to the board and solve this problem?" the teacher asked.

"Yes!" I looked up from my notes to see the girl I bumped into earlier pop up from her seat and ease her way up to the board.

 _The girl from earlier! She's in this class? Since when? What did the teacher call her?_

"Ah!" a mixed group of students in the class gasped.

She was only up for less than a minute and she already answered the problem on the board. Even I didn't understand it. Then again, I don't understand most of what we cover in class. I wasn't the only one surprised at least.

After school ended the girl was surrounded by classmates. I couldn't help but stare at her. Something about her made my chest churn.

"Interested in the new girl, Hinata?" One of my classmates elbowed me in the ribs. "Fall in line with the rest of us."

I grunted and hugged myself in pain. "New girl?"

"Oh, that's right. You were sleeping this morning. Her name is Saito Kaori. Cute, isn't it?"

"Kaori…?" Out of nowhere, the words slipped off my tongue. "It's beautiful."

My classmates were just as shocked as I was at what I said. Then again, I probably said that because of a certain someone from my past.

 _Saito Kaori…_

I looked back at the new girl and narrowed my eyes, focusing on her features.

Mid-back length brown hair and light brown eyes.

The Kaori I knew preferred her hair longer and braided, despite how childish she looked with them. She had poor vision and wore signature red glasses. Her chest was flat and she wasn't that tall. She was a timid girl who couldn't express herself well in front of others, but when she was on a volleyball court she would shine.

 _That Kaori and this Kaori are entirely different!_

Saito is a common surname and Kaori is a good name for a girl, so it should be reasonable for there to be more than one Saito Kaori in Japan.

This Kaori was elegant and poised as if she were raised in a higher demeanor.

"Oi, dumbass, we have practice," Kageyama said, hitting me in the head with his bag.

If this Kaori is so different, why can't I keep my eyes off of her?

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

"So you'll be done late then?" I asked my brother. Nao called me on my cellphone after school to tell me he had tennis practice and couldn't come home right away. "Call me when you're done, alright?"

"Of course, of course. Bye," I said before Nao hung up on me.

"Neh, Saito-chan. Who was that?" one of my classmates asked me.

"My younger brother," I replied.

"You have a younger brother!?" another female classmate asked.

 _Take it at your own pace, Kaori. Just smile and nod._

After fifteen minutes of chatting with my classmates I was released from them. They had to either go home or rush to club activities. I was invited over to peoples' houses and multiple clubs such as the tea club, photography club, and book club, but I respectfully declined the club offers and scheduled days to come over to my classmates' houses.

I had around two hours at most before I needed to pick up Nao and walk home with him. I could finish my homework, but it wouldn't take that long with the amount they give here. I needed something to do in the meantime, but what?

I settled to spend my hours in the library, finishing homework and reading a book on corvidae.

 ** _"Please join the girls' volleyball team! I know you're still adjusting to your surroundings here, but what better way to acquaint yourself with everyone than to join a team sports club?"_**

I put the corvidae book down and looked out the window at the sun. There was probably a half hour left before sunset.

"Why do I need help to acquaint myself with people…?"

 **Flashback Start:**

I was sitting at my desk reading a bibliography on Confucius during break while Hinata was watching me. He had the chair in front of me turned to face my desk.

"Kaori-chan, how can you stand reading all the time? Just one word from it and I fall asleep," Hinata complained, pushing my book flat onto my desk.

"It's interesting, Hinata-kun. You just dislike studying and doing homework." I softly said with a smile on my face before I picked my book back up and continued where I left off.

Hinata pouted and sprawled his arms out on my desk, resting his cheek on one of his arms, looking up at me. I lightly blushed when I noticed him staring, but this was typically how our breaks between classes went. Hinata would socialize with our classmates, make conversation with me, or watch me read during our breaks.

"Kaori-chan, how come you don't talk to anyone else in class but me?"

I tensed up and looked away from my book to Hinata. My face heated up and I slouched forward a bit to appear smaller. "W-Where is this coming from?"

"You're always reading or eating by yourself whenever I see you."

I frowned and looked back at my book, straightening my back. "There's no problem with that."

"Are you afraid of socializing with everyone?"

"Ugh!" He hit a nerve and he noticed. He sat up and took my book from me before taking my hand and pulling me out of my seat. "Hinata-kun, what are you doing?!"

"Don't worry! I'll be right beside you. If you get nervous, just look at me and you'll get through this!"

 **Flashback End:**

That was my first year of middle school before Hinata and I dated.

He had just started talking and hanging around me out of nowhere. Well, he later admitted it was because I looked like I needed a friend. Hinata helped me to face everyone and not be afraid to make a fool of myself when I fumbled over my words. Though it was all still a work in progress.

Whenever I would feel insecure, I just had to look at him and he would smile or take my hand and squeeze it. I didn't need much from him to get the courage I needed.

It should be noted that whenever times got too hard for me, I would look back on these times when life was simpler. I would look back on his smile.

"I don't need help making friends. I can manage on my own. I don't want to waste my time trying to befriend everyone when it'll never last."

I collected my things and left the library. On my way out of the school, I was passing by the small hall that led to one of the gyms. I could hear sounds of balls being hit against the polished floor and soft flesh. It brought back wonderful feelings of scoring points and holding the ball in my palms, but it also brought back pain.

I looked down the hall and through the open door. It was the boys' volleyball team working on some drills.

I shook my head and pushed myself back into motion. I needed to separate myself from volleyball.

"You're late," Nao replied, staring blankly at me as he shook a little from the cold breeze.

"Sorry, I was held up at school today." I fixed Nao's scarf to better warm up his face and neck. "How was practice?"

Nao yawned as we walked. "I came on the best day. Leg day."

I laughed. "You'll feel it in the morning."

"I suppose… Hey, did you know that they call the volleyball teams at Karasuno the Fallen Crows?"

 _Guess it's not that easy to get away from volleyball…_

"No…" I made sure that my tone reflected that I wanted him to drop the topic.

 _Fallen Crows? Heh, how fitting that title is to describe my life. Saito Sora? More like a Fallen Saito now._

* * *

 **Kageyama's POV-**

As I was lying on my bed practicing my tosses, I heard a scuffle out my window. I tried to ignore it, pushing it off as a bird, but birds didn't grunt or curse.

I tossed my ball to one corner of my room and opened my window to see what was going on.

Now I don't know what I was expecting to find when I looked out my window, but I can say for sure that I did not expect to see my seat partner, the new girl in my class, Saito Kaori, sitting on the roof of the house next door after climbing up there from the open window right across from mine.

As I was dumbfoundedly staring at her pink pajamas, she made a twisted face as if she was caught doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing.

At the same time we pointed at each other and shouted. "What are you doing there?!"

"Here," I said, handing Saito Kaori a cup of tea. I sat down at my desk while Saito was sitting on my bed.

"Thank you," she politely said as she blew over the top and took a sip.

I tried to look cool in my chair, but I was doing a bad job at hiding how nervous I was right now. Saito didn't look too composed either. Despite her posture being perfect, I could see from the liquid in her cup that her hands were shaking. We both sat in silence for a while before she decided to speak first.

"What are the odds that we are neighbors, Kageyama-san?"

I was grateful that she was the one who decided to break the ice.

"I didn't even know the house next door was for sale," I replied, pulling my ball over with my foot. "Why were you on your roof at this time?"

"I needed some fresh air."

My eyebrow twitched. "There are better ways to accomplishing that than climbing up to a roof."

Saito frowned and looked down at her tea. "If I climbed out of my bedroom window though, no one would notice I left."

 _That must mean her room is right across from mine._

I noticed her staring intensely at the ball I was spinning in my palms. Her fingers were flexing around the cup in her hands over and over.

"You're on the boys' volleyball team, no?" she asked.

I nodded, staring at the ball in my hands. I tossed it in the air and set it once before catching it.

"A setter...," she mumbled. She looked at my hands as if analyzing me to conclude that I was indeed a setter.

The ball accidentally slipped from my palms and rolled over to Saito's feet.

 _Shit!_

"Sorry!"

I was about to retrieve the ball, but I stopped as Saito lightly poked the ball with her toe as if touching it anymore would burn her.

It's strange. This morning she looked like a poised princess-like character, but right now she looked distraught. That strange vibe I got from her when I first laid eyes on her returned.

Maybe she isn't who she appears to be at all. Maybe it's all an act. No, I'm overthinking this. What would she have to gain from pretending?

"…Do you play?" I asked, focusing on the ball that laid by her feet.

"…I used to…now I don't."

"What position were you?"

"... Sometimes I was a setter and other times I was a wing spiker."

 _S-Setter?_

"What?"

"I've played as a wing spiker throughout middle school. I got pretty good so I suppose it wasn't a surprise when I became known as my school's Ace. I later…expanded to setter when I was deemed…not adequate enough to be called the Ace." Saito's grip on the cup tightened as she stared hard into the tea as if this was hard for her to say. She sighed and looked up at me. "Having an exceptional setter is essential to winning just as much as an exceptional spiker is." She stood and placed her cup on my desk. "Thank you for the hospitality, Kageyama-san."

She walked towards my window and opened it.

"Are you planning on joining girls' volleyball?" I asked, wondering what skill she must possess as a player.

She frowned and shook her head. "I can't…"

With that she climbed out my window and into hers. I heard the clang of her window closing signaling that she was safely inside her own room again.

"You can't?"

I shook it off and picked my ball back up again, continuing with what I was doing before I got sidetracked.

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

 _Shit, I said too much._

I punched my pillow as I cowered underneath my covers.

 _Out of anyone who could have been my neighbor, why did it have to be him?!_

I teared up and shoved my head underneath my pillow.

"Why can't I get away…?"

I woke up the next morning and got up just as I normally would do to get ready for school. I walked my brother to school and headed to mine. I greeted fellow classmates and commenced in small chatters with them until class began.

I looked over to Kageyama to see if he would press on more about volleyball to me, but much to my surprise, he was more focused on doodling strategies for setting to his teammates, making notes for what I guessed were all his teammates preferences. I didn't understand most of it though since he would write things such as: " _woosh!"_ or " _bang!"_

While the teacher was writing notes on the board with his back turned, I sneaked a look behind me, scanning the students for Hinata. I spotted him struggling to stay awake. His head was rocking up and down. I nearly giggled at the sight of how cute he was being, but I restrained myself and wiped that cheeky smile off of my face. I had no right to think such thoughts about him.

The way I ended things made it so that it couldn't be mended unless I owned up to my lies. I lied and hurt him. I wouldn't take myself back even if I apologized for everything. I can't just pick up where we left off because there's nothing left.

At lunch, I made plans to eat with a few classmates in the classroom after I went to buy a drink from the vending machine. I was trying to show off that I could make friends if I wanted to, even if they may not last. It was also a good distraction to keep me away from my thoughts.

I put the appropriate amount of yen into the machine and pressed the button for strawberry milk. As I crouched down to retrieve my drink that just clinked to the bottom, I heard a familiar voice shouting out their displeasure. "Why do I have to get Bakageyama his stupid milk?! I should give him banana milk to spite him."

It was Hinata.

I quickly retrieved my drink and stood up in time to be face to face with Hinata.

 _Strangers. Strangers._

"Ah, you're from my class! We even bumped into one another yesterday," I said, chuckling softly as I put my hand up to my lips gently.

"You're Saito Kaori…," he replied.

On the inside, I was screaming out how nice it was to hear my name come from his lips again.

I nodded and put my wallet in my pocket. "It seems rather unfair how you know more about me already than I do you."

"… What do you mean?"

I swear there were pieces of sweat on my temple from his question. Then again, he wasn't always the brightest. "What is your name?"

"Why didn't you ask before!? My name is Hinata Shoyo. I hope we have a great year together! Ah, it feels like the first day of school for me all over again."

"Really? It feels like my first day every day, Hinata-san." I noticed him stop talking. He was just staring at me, as if analyzing everything about me. He didn't appear to register that I was the Saito Kaori from his past. I shuffled, uncomfortable. "Is there something on my face?"

Hinata shook his head, breaking his trance. He scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, you just remind me of someone I knew."

"Oh, am I this person?"

"I don't think you'd be asking me if you were. Plus, despite the similarities, there are a lot of differences."

"Really now…like what?"

"Your voice is different, your style, your composit-"

I stopped listening there.

 _THAT'S PUBERTY YOU IDIOT!_

I self-consciously covered my chest with my arms and said my goodbyes to Hinata before things became more awkward.

 _At least he has himself convinced that I'm an entirely different person. That's good... There's no going back now... Honestly, when will the lies stop with me?_

The whole lunch I had to answer questions and explain the different classes that were required at my old school such as: proper etiquette, home economics, world literature & art, music, dance, etc. It was prestigious for a reason. I myself wasn't rich. I was able to enter the school because of a family connection as well as my performance as a volleyball player. It was a rich kid school though. There were very few middle-class kids attending that were able to with a scholarship, and even then I felt left out.

* * *

 **Kageyama's POV-**

As I was working on my homework, I heard shuffling outside my window.

 _Her again? Is she trying to get herself killed for some damn roof air?!_

"YOU!" I slammed my window open and looked up at Saito's roof to see a bird flying away. "…"

The window across from me opened casually as Saito poked her head out from behind the curtains and leaned on the windowsill in a random sweater and leggings. She looked as if she just took a shower. "You're so loud at this time of night, Kageyama-san."

"…" I glared at her and she flinched.

"W-What'd I do?"

I shut my window and went back to my studies. "Stupid woman," I muttered under my break.

"Neh… Kageyama-san… Can I come over?"

 _Why does she want to come? What makes her think I want her to be here in my room!? It's not even appropriate for a girl to be alone in a guy's room! This girl is starting to become a pain in the-_

"If not, I can always just settle for the roof." I could hear her climbing out of her window as she spoke. "Sorry for bothering you…"

I ignored her. What she did with her night was of no importance to me.

"AIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEECKKKK!"

I slammed my pencil down and opened my window to see that Saito was hanging on the ledge of her roof just dangling there, trying to get her footing on her window sill.

"I-It's there!"

I looked past her hands on her roof to see a raccoon lounging nearby.

"Sorry…," Saito apologized, accepting the tea I handed her.

I collapsed onto the floor next to my chair, tired from trying to help Saito from her dangling spot and fetching her some tea.

"Why can't you just stay quiet in your room?" I asked, sitting up, fiddling with my volleyball.

"There's nothing to do and I have too many thoughts..."

I groaned as Saito placed her tea on my bedside table. I tossed my ball in the air and started tossing to myself.

 _She said she was a setter, right?_

As if to test her reaction, I tossed the ball over to Saito. Much to my disappointment, Saito just caught it above her head, but if I were to look closer, I would see that she caught it in a setting position; only, she didn't move to guide the ball up.

After she left for the night, I laid in bed, thinking about her reaction to holding the ball.

 **" _I can't…"_**

I rolled onto my side.

Why couldn't she play volleyball? The look on her face as she was holding the ball was of someone with a passion for the game. Her eyes were fixated on the ball and her fingers were feeling the cushions that surrounded the sphere. It was like a child looking at a candy bar that they've been given after constant begging.


	2. Chapter 2

**Kaori's POV-**

A week has passed since I began my time at Karasuno. Michimiya Yui made it her top priority to ask me every day to join the volleyball team. It became routine for me to politely reject her. Though, with every passing day I reject her, the more motivated she became. It's almost surprising how passionate and serious she is about having me join, but I believe that she only wants me because of the repertoire I'm known for.

"Kaori-chan?"

I turned around at the sound of my name to see a girl five inches taller than I, me being five foot one. She had short chestnut hair, black eyes, and a light trace of freckles around her nose.

She appeared to be the same year as me, but not in my class. She was very familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

Before I could speak, the girl grabbed both of my hands and decreased the distance between us. "It is you right? Hey, you look a little different now, but I can still see that it's you."

That's when it dawned on me. This girl was one of my old teammates back at Yukigaoka Middle.

"Aria-chan?" I asked more than said.

She nodded ferociously and pulled me into a bear hug, towering over me. I wasn't used to her being this tall. When we were younger she was only two feet taller than I was.

"You're so cute now. Are you wearing contacts nowadays? You cut your hair! How did I not see you before? Why didn't you contact me when you moved back!?"

"Sorry, sorry. I didn't think anyone would remember me. It's been nearly two years."

"How could I forget? You were a big part of the team! Saito Sora! Haha, it's not like we had any time to forget about our Ace and we were always being bombarded with questions by… How are you and Hinata-san now?"

There were two things that hurt in what Aria was saying.

We separated from our hug and I plastered on the best smile I could. "He thinks I'm an entirely different Saito Kaori. I guess it is possible for there to be more than one person with my name in the world."

"…He's an idiot… Even if it was someone with the same name, you still look like you. Are you going to tell him?"

"No…you know how I left things…"

"This is stupid, Kaori-chan!"

I shook my head, wanting to change the subject. "What about you? Are you still playing as a middle blocker on the team?"

Aria shook her head. "I wanted to try something new, ya know? I'm in track and field now." I could sense there was a deeper meaning to her change of heart, but I didn't press on it.

Since it was lunch we ate together and continued to catch up. It felt nice to have something from my old life come back to me, but it won't last.

"Saito Kaori!"

I bit my lip.

 _Not again…_

"If you join the volleyball team today, I will give you this special edition keychain!"

I looked up at my senpai from my seat while Aria was confused. Michimiya was holding up a keychain of a popular, but ugly-looking, duck.

"Sorry, Michimiya-senpai. I still refuse your offer." I bowed my head sorrowfully and went back to my lunch while Michimiya left in disappointment and growing ambition.

"You haven't joined the team here yet?" Aria asked me as if it was unheard of. I shook my head. "But you love volleyball!" I curled my toes inside my shoes.

"Times change, Aria-chan."

 **Flashback Start:**

I didn't think I couldn't play anymore after the funeral. No, this started before the funeral was even being planned.

I looked down at my calloused hands as it had begun to sprinkle. Friends and family made their way to their cars.

I couldn't bring myself to move from my spot in front of the now closed casket. My brother stood a few feet away in his black suit, watching over me as I examined every rough piece of skin on my hands.

I was in a black, long-sleeved lace dress that went down to my knees with black flats. My hair was elegantly tied up into a bun with a black cloth covering it. Underneath the skirt of my dress I worse black stockings.

"Nee-san…," Nao mumbled as the rain began to pick up. He opened an umbrella and stood beside me to make sure neither of us got too wet.

I closed my eyes and rubbed my hands together to feel the damage on my hands.

This was the same feeling those hands used to feel like. Those hands that I can no longer hold anymore. Those hands that will never be there to guide me. Those hands that were always heavy in my own, but later became too light.

For once in my life, I didn't want to escape my problems by playing volleyball. To my despair, volleyball became a part of my problems.

 **Flashback End:**

The next day, Aria barged into my classroom right as the bell rang for lunch and dragged me out without telling me a thing. Due to the shock I experienced, I instinctively grabbed onto the nearest person with my free hand who sadly was Kageyama.

Once I was released, Kageyama and I fell to the floor of what was the gym.

"Tch. WHY DID YOU DRAG ME ALONG TOO!?" I wasn't paying any attention to Kageyama's venom-like words, but the view in front of me.

The volleyball net was set up, the balls were out, and standing in front of the net in their PE uniforms and knee pads were a few of the members of the Yukigaoka girls' volleyball team. The girls that were in my grade as well as my senpais that were on the team.

"What's-"

"Kaori-chan, think of this as a little reunion for us. There wasn't enough of us in our year to make a game, so we asked a few senpais that were on the team our second year to come." Aria stood beside the girls.

"… There still wouldn't be en-"

"You surprisingly brought Kageyama-san along with you…and we've also asked the captain of the girls' volleyball team to attend as well."

As if on cue, Michimiya Yui appeared in the doorway of the gym in her uniform. "Let's do this!"

And with that, Kageyama and I were forced to participate and change into our PE uniforms. I was given extra kneepads and my hair was tied back into a high ponytail. I didn't have a head band and there were no extras on anyone, so I decided to play without one seeing as it shouldn't be a big problem. I made sure I was wearing a sweatshirt and pants.

 _Why am I doing this…?_

I came out onto the court with mixed feelings.

 **Flashback Start:**

When I first moved to my new school, I was put through a trial run with the middle school branch's volleyball team. My skills were deemed high enough for high school level and I was moved to that team. I instantly became a regular as a wing spiker and college scouts/journalists would constantly be all over me. I didn't mind the attention since I blocked them out when I played, but for my new teammates it was another story.

"Saito Sora. You certainly live up to your name," said the captain of our volleyball team one day after practice. I blushed and graciously thanked her for the compliment. I looked up to everyone on the team since they've had more experience in games than I have, but that admiration didn't come off right.

"You must think you're better than us, huh? A third-year middle schooler playing in the high school division as a regular, not to mention that all the magazines and even Coach are calling you the Ace," said another of my teammates. "How do you think that makes our poor Captain feel seeing our previous Ace out of her games?"

"I-It's fine, everyone. I don't really mind since we're all winning as a team in the end," said the previous Ace. She was a first-year high school student with long blond hair and blue eyes. She was of foreign blood, but born in Japan.

"Jennifer-chan, you're being too soft. You worked your ass off to get that position and she just took it away!" shouted another teammate.

I bowed to Jennifer. "I'm sorry! I didn't know! I'll talk to Coach about switching me out."

"No, no! It's fine really!" Jennifer said, pulling me up out of my bowing position.

"You're too nice for your own good, Jen-chan. People will walk all over you… People like Saito who come from a mediocre town and family take advantage of people like us because they're jealous." My teammates were all going against me except for Jennifer.

"No! That's not how it is at all!" I tried to reason. Jennifer wrapped her arms around me as if to protect me from the words of others.

Jennifer made a vow to me help me become a better player that day, but little did I know the true meaning behind that vow.

 **Flashback End:**

I looked down at my soft hands. Over the course of a month the damaged skin rejuvenated into smoother, softer skin. These weren't the hands of a volleyball player.

"Kao-chan! We're deciding teams!"

I looked up and saw one of my senpais waving at me. I jogged over, everyone—minus Kageyama—smiling at me.

This didn't feel right.

"I'll set," I offered. The girls looked at me in surprise.

Aria held up her arms in an 'x' motion. "Rejected."

"What?"

"Kaori-chan will be a wing spiker."

"Eh? Hey, hold on-" I was cut off as the teams were split off.

On my side, Kageyama was setting and the rest were old team members of mine. On the other side, Aria was a middle blocker while Michimiya was a wing spiker. The captain of the boys' team, Sawamura Daichi, kept track of the score. I didn't even notice him appear.

 _This is stupid…what will this prove?_

* * *

 **Sawamura's POV-**

This was a good way for Kageyama to practice tossing to people with different hitting preferences. He didn't look happy to be playing with the girls, but I was sure he was grateful to be on the court.

The girl that Michimiya has been after for the past week, Saito Kaori, didn't look interested in the game at all.

"Oi," Kageyama said once the score was 7-16, his side being down nine. Everyone watched as Kageyama walked over to Saito.

"Shit." I was worried that he'd be rough on her like how he was with Hinata. I was about to intercept Kageyama, but then…

"If you're not willing to play your heart out on this court, then you're weak," Kageyama said to Saito with his dark persona. Saito's eyes widened as she stepped back, surprised. "The only ones who will remain on the court are the strong. So get off. I won't toss to someone so incompetent."

Saito's head dropped down, her bangs slightly covering her eyes as Kageyama crossed his arms with his usual frown and turned to get back into his position.

"…We all have been having a hard time in our own way, Kaori-chan," Miura spoke up and Saito looked up to listen with the blank look of someone in deep thought. "We needed something to help up start believing again… We needed to see you fly once more... Being able to play with you again…is something precious to us. Our time together was cut short too… If you're really not into this… Sorry for pushing you too hard." Miura gave a small but sad smile.

"…" Saito held up her hand with a stoic look on her face. "It's my turn to serve, right?"

Somehow, despite the lack of expression on Saito's face, the mood lightened. I tossed her the ball and she went to the service box. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She spun the ball in her hands and started up into a run, tossing the ball into the air, slamming her hand into it as she completed her jump serve. The ball was returned with some struggle considering that a lot of the ex-members of the Yukigaoka Middle School team didn't join volleyball in high school and thus were out of shape. The ball was sent to Michimiya, who spiked it down. Someone on Saito's side saved the ball and Kageyama ran to retrieve the ball. It looked as if Kageyama was going to set to the left-wing spiker, but out of nowhere, Saito shouted, "RIGHT!"

Saito, who was in the back row on the left side, dashed around to the right as Kageyama set backwards to her. Saito was nowhere near the ball to cleanly spike it, but out of nowhere she leaped forward into the air, her face showing determination and intense concentration on the game. Miura and another blocker from the other side were ready to block the spike.

Saito's arm was raised and her body was curved outward, as if trying to cut through the air. It looked as if she were a bird, taking flight through the darkness. In a split few seconds, Saito's body contorted inward, her right hand contacting the ball and sending it through the blocker's arms. Everyone on the opposite side didn't have enough time to react from the initial shock of the attack. Kageyama, with his usual frown, nodded in contempt.

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

 ** _"The only ones who will remain on the court are the strong. So get off. I won't set to someone so incompetent."_**

 _I'm not incompetent…and I'm not weak…_

I went to the service box, getting ready to serve as my thoughts began to fester.

 _Am I strong…? If I'm questioning it, then I must not be. What am I then?_

I spun the volleyball in my palms, feeling the cushions with a sense of longing.

 _What…is this feeling…?_

I took a deep, heavy breath.

 _Not being able to get the ball…not being able to stay on the court anymore…_

I stopped the ball from spinning in my hands and served it across.

 _I DON'T WANT THAT!_

* * *

 **Sawamura's POV-**

The game ended, 25-18. Saito's side won. Once Kageyama and Miura spoke up, something in Saito must have changed because she started to call for hits not knowing if they'll come, but graciously taking whatever she could get. If someone fell to save a ball or fell and lost a point, she would encourage them to shake it off and focus on the next point. Anyone could tell the difference between her in the beginning and the end. Anyone could see how much she loved this game and how much her fight energized everyone. Her spikes even made me want to jump in play. I didn't care if it was with her or against her. She truly was fit to be called an Ace.

"So this is Saito Kaori's power…," Michimiya said to me once everyone thanked one another for the great game. "She is someone we desperately need on the team… With her on board, I just know we can win. She can rally everyone to work harder…even me. The girls' team needs a beacon to give us hope once again, to keep us fighting even when we lose the motivation to. She's the one who will save Karasuno's Girls' Volleyball team from falling further into the ground, even if she herself is in the process of falling."

I smiled to myself and pat Michimiya on the head. I was reminded of how I felt about the new members of the boys' team. Even we had a chance at redemption.

Michimiya was not happy with me petting her so she ran away to Saito, asking her to join volleyball, but Kaori still rejecting in the end. It was quite comedic.

Though Saito was still being stubborn, I could see her sporting a Karasuno uniform sometime soon.

I doubted her at first, but after watching her expression during the game, there was no doubt left in me regarding her representing our school.

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

I stared at my right hand while I was leaning against my left hand, with my elbow propped up on my desk.

I recalled the one set game I played during lunch and smiled to myself. My hand was still a little red and stinging from playing. It made my blood rush.

 _Playing with Aria-chan and the others again almost felt like old times… They're all up to their own activities now. They've moved on from volleyball. I also need to move on…_

I looked up at the board.

 _Old town. Old me… No. Old town. New me._

* * *

 **Hinata's POV-**

On my way home from practice, I noticed boys from Yukigaoka Middle School exiting a café ahead of me.

"Ah!"

 _Did I look like them last year?_

"Naoko, you're heading back to school?" I overheard one of the boys asking.

Out of curiosity I tuned into their conversation.

The boy with brown short, ruffled hair nodded. "My older sister is picking me up there."

"W-We should walk you back. You might get lost on your way back," one of the boy's friends said.

"Hell no. You just want to see my sister."

"Well you never invite her to practice. Not all of us have met her you know."

"And none of you will."

"We could tell the fangirls that there is a high schooler crushing on you and they'll do the work of finding her for us."

"Idiot. She has my surname."

 _I-Is this what kids talk about these days?!_

The boy who was the topic of discussion turned his head around because he dropped his tennis bag. He turned around and picked it up. When he stood and looked up, his eyes made contact with mine and widened.

"You…," the boy said to me. It took me awhile to realize that this boy knew me, and yet I didn't know if I knew him. The boy noticed my confusion and pulled up his sleeve to show off a white sweatband with the initials _S.N. sewed on_.

That sweatband was something I could never forget because I was the one who gave that to him.

"N-N-No way!" I shouted, pointing at the boy in front of me. His friends were confused on what was happening between us. "N-Nao?!"

The boy nodded, giving a small smile until he realized something I did not and quickly spun around on the heel of his foot to leave. He told his friends good bye and walked off in a hurry.

 _I-If Saito Naoko is here… Then…_

"H-Hey!" I ran after him, finding it easy to catch up since I was always the faster one. I tackled him to the ground, ending his means of escape.

"Got you!"

"Damn your legs…," Naoko muttered.

We both got up and I grabbed Naoko by his shoulders. "Where did you disappear to?! I heard you moved one day out of nowhere!"

"…Osaka… Otou-san got a job offer and we had to move out there quickly."

"But…you're back now?"

My shoulders shook as my heart started racing out of my chest from long and overdue anticipation. I needed to know for my own sake.

"Since last week…about… I should really be goi-"

"Is Kaori back too?"

"…"

I looked at Naoko dead in the eyes as my memories of Kaori started pouring out all over again. "Nao!" I didn't mean to shout, but I couldn't control myself. I've searched for Kaori around town for so long. I just needed to understand why she did what she did and how that _freedom_ she told me she wanted went. I just needed to see that she was alright.

Naoko looked at my volleyball jacket. "She goes to your school…" Naoko averted his gaze.

"But…the only one who transferred last week was…!" I let go of Naoko and fell back onto my butt, looking down as I tried to piece everything together.

 ** _"Sorry, you just remind me of someone I knew."_**

 ** _"Oh, am I this person?"_**

 ** _"I don't think you'd be asking me if you were."_**

I clasped my hands around pieces of my hair, lightly tugging at it.

"Why would you… Why didn't I… UGH! I'm an idiot!"

Naoko looked around, got restless and crouched down, leaning his weight against me. I stopped my inner turmoil moment and looked at him.

"...I'm lost…" Naoko murmured, hiding his face from me.

 _…You still suck at directions…_

I pushed aside my feelings and grabbed Naoko's hand, leading him to my house so I could search up the directions to his house. If I could guide him home I would be able to settle things with Kaori once and for all.

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

I was waiting around Yukigaoka's entrance for Naoko, but he wasn't around. I heard my phone ring and I looked at it to see a message from the boy himself. He messaged me to head home by myself and that he was going to his friend's house.

I sighed and made my way home. I walked down the main street looking at all the shops.

"Oh, Saito-san."

I turned around and saw Kageyama.

"Kageyama-san. Heading home?" I asked, waiting for him to catch up.

He nodded and we decided to walk together. It was a silent walk and by the time we got to our houses, my mom opened the front door.

"Kao-chan! Welcome home!" my mom shouted. I slammed my hand into my face, embarrassed. "Oh, is that your friend?"

"H-Hello-" Kageyama was cut off.

"You should join us for dinner!" my mom beamed, coming over and practically dragging Kageyama into our home.

 _Sorry, Kageyama-san…_

While waiting for dinner, I showed Kageyama to my room to waste time. I pulled out a table and some cushions for us to sit on. When he sat down, I opened the window and tried to crack a joke. "Behold the infamous window." He narrowed his eyes at me and I stopped laughing.

 _Okay…not funny? I thought it was._

"Ho ho ho..."

I stared at Kageyama, wondering if that sound came from him.

 _W-Was that him trying to laugh?_

I shook my head and made my way out of the room with the excuse of getting us something to drink.

* * *

 **Kageyama's POV-**

I looked around Saito's room.

 _Is this what a girl's room looks like?_

From my seat on the floor, I could see a few brown boxes under her bed. Now, it's not good to go through people's possessions, but I ignored that unspoken rule. The door was shut anyways, so it wasn't like anyone would walk by and see. I slid one of the boxes out and opened it. The first thing that caught my eye was a pair of red glasses. I picked them up and examined them.

 _Saito-san wore glasses? She must be a contact person now…_

I put the glasses on the table next to me and continued looking through the box. I found trinkets and small plushies. Buried under all this stuff was a photo album. I opened it just as the door opened.

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

I walked in with two mugs full of hot chocolate. I expected to see Kageyama sitting just as stiffly as I had left him, but things didn't go like that.

"Huh…" I stared at Kageyama who stared back at me in fear because he was caught doing something he shouldn't have. I closed the door behind me with my foot and placed the mugs on the table and sat beside him, trying to process everything. It was one of the boxes under my bed, and thankfully not the worst box he could have grabbed.

I didn't know what to do. Hit him? Scream? Scold? Deny? I took a deep breath and leaned against the frame of my bed.

"Just ask me what's on your mind… I don't know how to react."

"…You and Hinata…"

I nodded. "Before I moved the summer of my second year of middle school."

"But you two act like complete…"

"Strangers?"

Kageyama nodded. "… Is it alright to ask what happened?"

"It'll come out eventually, right?" I scratched the back of my head and took a sip of my hot chocolate. "I was the one who broke up with him… Two days before school ended for break, my father told my family the big news that he was promoted and his new job was located in Osaka. We were all happy for him…until we realized we all had to come with him. If we moved and Sho… Hinata-san and I were still dating, then it'd become long-distance, right? Long-distance is hard…and I didn't want him to feel tied down to me if he found someone else to love while I was away. I didn't want his life to stop and just focus on trying to keep in contact with me, so I made up a lie to break his heart. I wanted to make sure he wouldn't come find me; that he wouldn't chase after me. I made my teammates promise me that they wouldn't tell him my true intentions."

"…" Kageyama grew silent as he looked through the pictures of me and Hinata.

I started laughing out of nowhere. "I'm despicable, right? A coward? Whether you say it or not, I know what I did was wrong. I should have told the truth, right? Maybe end things on a truthful note rather than a false one? Well, I didn't tell the truth, did I? I don't even have the face to confront him now. He even believes I'm not the Saito Kaori he knew. Even more lies since I played along!"

Kageyama seemed startled by my outburst.

I hunched my back and hanged my head down with my hair falling over my shoulders to shield most of my face. "Why am I even telling you all of this? We aren't really friends, are we? Doesn't matter... You'll just leave me in the end anyways… Everyone always leaves…"

"…Saito-san…" Kageyama sounded as if he understood me a bit, but that didn't seem logical.

I straightened up, tears starting to form in my eyes as I leaned my head back.

At the time, I wasn't registering what I was revealing. Everything flowed out comfortably as if I was talking to my best friend. "It's scary to have so many people around you who don't really care about you. You feel alone despite being surrounded by your so-called _friends_. You didn't do anything wrong and yet…to be treated like a disease…"

I lost track of everything that was happening around me at that moment.

 **Flashback Start:**

During practice, my teammates would purposefully give me terrible tosses when the coach wasn't looking. When I had to rally with a partner, my partner would make my time difficult by hitting anywhere away from me. I would use up too much energy at the end of practice that it hurt to breathe. I was in-shape, but I wasn't track star in-shape.

When I would shower in the girl's locker room, they would mess with my things. They would cut holes in my clothes, put things in my locker to frame me for stealing, write hurtful notes, throw my items all over the floor, stuff trash in my locker, or hide my things around school and make me find them with riddles. Jennifer was the only one who ever really looked out for me on the team and treated me as her teammate and her friend. I never told any adult about what happened since it was something I could bear for now, especially since I had someone to stand up for me. I knew that things would get worse if I told on my teammates. They never let me forget that.

Today was different from the team's usual pranks. I took out my contacts and showered. After my shower, when I went to my locker and changed into my uniform, nothing happened. Everything seemed fine. Though, I couldn't be sure until I put on my glasses and cleared up my vision. I was near-sighted, but I could only clearly see one foot in front of me.

I couldn't find my glasses.

"Looking for these?"

I turned around and saw my captain holding my red spectacles with the rest of the team surrounding the two of us. I stepped towards my captain. "Can I have my glasses back?"

"Tch, disgusting," my captain said as one of my teammates next to her pushed me back roughly enough to make me fall onto the floor. I held myself as I looked around. I couldn't see their faces, but I could feel the hate everyone had for me.

The captain walked over to me and bent down to my eye level. "Saito-chan, you don't need these. They are only a hindrance to the team's performance. Let me help you in disposing them." She dangled my glasses in front of my face before she stood up and threw my glasses down on the floor in front of me. I flinched just as she stomped her foot down on them.

I opened my eyes to see the frame broken in two with cracks and shattered glass. I covered my face with my hands, not wanting to see anymore. When everything was blurry, it made me dizzy. This situation only made things worse.

Everyone was laughing as Jennifer broke through the crowd and fell to my side. I didn't even notice I was crying until she wrapped her arms around me.

"It's okay… I got you," she whispered to me as she scolded the team, saying how childish they were being. She even collected the fragments of my wrecked glasses onto a handkerchief.

"Neh, Riri-chan," Jennifer said as we were walking home together. "Have you ever thought about laser eye surgery?"

"That's a lot of money…"

"Nonsense, I'll even pay for you!"

"Y-You really don't have to!"

"Don't worry a little hair on your head about it. We're friends, so I don't mind. If we correct your vision, the others won't have any glasses to break or contacts to mess with."

Originally, I invested into getting contacts strictly for volleyball games when I played, but recently I started using them more during practice since my teammates found it necessary to aim for my face.

"I…" I sighed. "Jenny, I'm scared of things like that. Lasers and needles."

"Oh! Ah… Here! I'll stay by your side and hold your hand throughout the entire procedure!" As if to prove her point she grabbed my hand and held it tightly in hers.

It took a few more hours, but Jennifer eventually convinced me to go through with the procedure. Just in case I bailed at the last second, I asked my parents to buy me a new pair of glasses, the exact same model as my old pair. I never got to use them, but they served as a great reminder of my past.

 **Flashback End:**

I snapped out of my train of thought since my mom started yelling from downstairs that dinner was ready. Kageyama, who apparently put everything he took out away while I was out of it, and I awkwardly made our way downstairs. I wiped my face with my sleeves before my mom would see and put on my _good girl_ attitude.

* * *

 **Naoko's POV-**

"Thank you for the food," I said, bowing to Hinata's mother.

"It's no problem! Come over to eat whenever you want! It's been a while since I've last seen you. Make sure you bring your sister along next time too!" Hinata's mother said, petting my head. It felt nice, but I still kept my frown plastered on my face. It was normal for me to frown no matter what. I gave up on smiles a long time ago.

Natsu, Shoyo's younger sister, jumped onto my back, wrapping her arms around my neck. "Nao-nii!" She nuzzled her face against my shoulder blade. "Are you leaving already?"

I nodded and bent down so she'd get off. She spun around to get in front of me and showed off her hair.

"Look, look! I'm going to grow out my hair like Kao-nee! Hehehe, but my hair won't grow fast for some reason…" She pouted and I patted her head.

 _I wonder if short hair just runs in their family…_

"I got the address on my phone," Hinata said, emerging into the main room. He looked at me. "Ready?"

I nodded and put on my scarf. Hinata's mother laughed and fixed my scarf since I apparently really suck at putting on a scarf efficiently enough to keep me warm.

Hinata opened the door and it was pouring rain outside. We all stood at the doorway, watching the wind blowing the rain at a rapid pace.

"… There was no forecast for rain…," Hinata's mom murmured.

"We can take an umbrella," Hinata said, determined to go through the rain.

"Oh no you don't. It's a storm out there. I am not letting you two out there. Wait till the storm gets calmer and if it doesn't, you're welcome to sleep over Naoko. I'll call your mom and tell her."

"…" I looked outside the door once more before signing in defeat. "Thank you…"

* * *

 **Kageyama's POV-**

Saito walked me to the front door and leaned against the wall while I was putting on my shoes. Things have been strained between us since she caught me going through her things.

 _Should I apologize?_

"… Let's end our interactions with one another now…"

"What?" I asked, not sure I heard her right as she opened the door and looked out.

"Ah! It's raining…it's really pouring huh? Is it fine for you to go home with this weather? You are just next door though…" Saito walked out in her sandals.

"O-Oi!" I reached out to grab her, but she was already more than an arm's reach away from me. I stepped out to the porch while she stepped out into the storm standing a few feet from the porch. She was getting soaked.

"It rained like this before…in Osaka…that night…but something is missing…"

It's been bothering me since she started acting crazy in her room, but the look in her eyes were dull.

She turned and looked at me. "Go, Kageyama-san… Leave me already before I get attached…before I start believing you're really my friend…"

"What are you talking about, Stupid!" I shouted, closing the front door so her mom wouldn't hear us over the dishes she was washing. "I thought you were smarter than this after that set we played, but you're a bigger idiot than I thought!" Saito flinched and looked up at me as I went to the edge of the porch where it was still dry. "I don't remember being your friend in the first place!"

Saito frowned and looked down as if she understood me completely.

"Tch. Friendship isn't something you need to establish! It just happens and one day you just realize that the relationship has been like that. It's a mutual understanding from both parties! I don't know in what moment we became friends, but we are. Why would I just abandon my friend!? That's ridiculous! Maybe people left you in the past, but I'm not them."

"K-Kage…" She looked taken aback. Her eyes started to become more emotional. She was starting to let her feelings show. I stepped into the storm with her so I could yell in her face.

"I don't know what happened in your past, but for me… Being alone is the worst thing in the world. I…made my whole volleyball team in middle school despise me because of how arrogant, over-competitive, and demanding I was. In one of our biggest matches, when I set the ball…no one was there to get it. No one wanted to play if I was out there on the court."

 _Shit… Now I'm starting to…_

Despite the rain disguising my salty fluids, Saito hugged me.

"…"

Neither of us spoke. I didn't hug Saito back. We took this moment to share this feeling of mutual understandings of being alone.

"Please… Rely on me before you push me out for no reason," I said. "Despite all of my downfalls as a person…trust me." Saito, whose face was buried into my chest, nodded her head.

Saito let go of me and held out her pinky. "I promise…" It was childish, but I proudly returned her gesture.

For once Saito gave a genuine smile despite how wrinkled her face was getting from the rain and tears I assumed she was shedding.

 **BOOOOM!**

Lightening erupted and in that blinding momentary flash, I felt a body launch itself onto mine and cling for dear life. I had my arms hovering over the body in the air, stiff. Once I regained my vision, I saw Saito holding me. I silently gasped when I realized she was shaking tremendously. At this point, I couldn't tell if it was from the cold or lightening.

I rushed her inside just as her mom walked into the hall. She was surprised and rushed the both of us into two separate bathrooms.

I was given clothes to change into despite saying that I could change into my uniform or shower at my own house. Moms sure do know how to force you to do things.

In the shower, I thought about everything Saito told me thus far. I was able to deduce a few things: Hinata was an even bigger idiot than I thought, Saito had a lot of mental scars, and all this somehow connects to Saito not wanting to play volleyball anymore.

There wasn't much about myself to share, so I felt determined to find out everything I could on the _real_ Saito Kaori. Maybe my investigation shouldn't start with the girl herself yet. I could do a search online of her name and see what comes up or check out new tabloids from Osaka around the time she was there.

I was sitting in the kitchen figuring out my courses of action. I was being forced to sleep over by both Saito's mom and mine. They were speaking on the phone once I got out of the shower. Saito came down to the kitchen in a thermal, long-sleeved shirt and sweats. She sat across from me with a blank-look on her face. I tried my best to copy her expression, but I ended up glaring at her.

Her face scrunched up in surprise. "W-What did I do now?"

"…Nothing."

"… Your face looks scary when you're feeling neutral."

A vein popped out of my head at that insult. I crossed my arms and looked away from Kaori "Tch. I was born like this."

"Sorry, sorry!"

 **BOOOOOMM!**

I watched as Saito flinched and covered her ears with her hands, shaking.

"You're scared of thunder?" I asked.

She nodded. "It wasn't always like this…" She trailed off, looking at my clothes as if in a daze.

I looked down at myself. The shirt and shorts I was given were big on me, but I made it work somehow.

"Those…are my father's clothes…," Saito mumbled.

"You dad? He must be tall… Oh, where is he? Does he work late?"

Saito stood up. "Yeah…late… Let's go to my room."

We spent the rest of the night talking on the floor of Saito's room. It was mostly jokes and casual conversation, but it held a lot of meaning to two people who don't normally socialize whole-heartedly. We didn't even notice we fell asleep until we woke up on the floor with piles of blankets covering us separately and well as pillows under our heads. It must have been Saito's mother who did it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Kageyama's POV-**

It was strange and uncomfortable to wake up, get ready for school, and have breakfast at the Saito household.

I woke up early for morning practice and ended up waking up Saito because I forgot where I was and panicked.

Apparently, Saito had a younger brother that never came home last night because of the storm and slept over elsewhere.

"If you're going to come to school early with me, you might as well watch the practice," I grumbled, annoyed at Saito because of how comfortable and happy she seemed walking beside me. She was radiating beams contradictory to my own.

Saito was originally planning on wandering the campus or reading in the library until class started.

"Why would I do that?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. "I refuse to join the volleyball team, so why watch a practice?"

"It's the boys' team, not the girls'."

She pressed her lips together and looked off to the side in thought. "… I guess watching wouldn't hurt. I get to see what you look like with other people."

"Oi! What's that supposed to mean!?" Steam was coming out of my ears.

Saito jumped in front of me and started walking backwards. She childishly stuck her tongue out a bit. "You're unapproachable."

I ended up chasing her all the way to school. She was surprisingly fast and very agile with her maneuvers.

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

Kageyama left to go to the club room so I went ahead to the gym to wait. When I entered, I saw the net and balls already set up. There was no one inside the gym from what I could tell, not even a manager or coach.

 _Who set up everything?_

I left my bag in my classroom so I didn't have anything to do in the meantime while I waited for the members to come. I felt awkward just standing around like an object out of place, so I looked around to confirm no one was inside. The doors were all closed, so no one would see me if I were to do anything.

I lightly slapped my cheeks.

 _What are you thinking Kaori? Playing should be the farthest thing from your mind!_

My mind flashed back to that one-set match.

 _Ah… I could have gotten more height if I- Gah!_

I walked over to the ball cart and picked up a ball.

 _I'm sure no one would mind me hitting just one ball…_

I checked to see if the ball was flat and then walked over to the service box.

 _No one needs to find out anyways._

I scanned the opposite side of the court beyond the net, looking for a good area to aim for.

"There should do just fine…"

I made sure to be careful since I wasn't wearing athletic shoes. I rolled up my sleeves and went as far as I could in the service box. I performed a jump serve and made it to my desired spot. My serve wasn't perfectly executed despite the ball being where I wanted it to go, but I didn't have to worry about such things anymore since I was now an ex-player.

 _This is just to pass the time…it's not like…_

I jogged over to the other side to retrieve the ball and serve on that side.

 _…I'm yearning to be back here…_

"Let's try to go for a line now…"

I was too absorbed in my serves to see that the doors to the gym opened and people entered. I served the ball and nearly missed the line, but still got the ball to noticeably touch it. I would have said that serve was as good as I could do in my current attire, but I failed. When I landed, I slipped back and fell on my butt.

I winced at the momentary pain and took deep breaths to relieve myself. I heard clapping and gasps, and tensed up. I cranked my head towards the gym doors to see a small group of boys, none of which I knew except for the captain.

Some of the boys were blushing and I realized that in my position, and depending how long they were watching, they could see up my skirt.

I quickly got up, pulled down my sleeves, and rushed over to the group while holding down my skirt.

"S-Sorry! N-No one was around and everything was set up s-s-so I-"

"It's fine. It's nice to see people enjoying the sport," the captain said. "We haven't properly been introduced. I'm Sawamura Daichi, the Captain of the boys' team. I'm a third year in class four."

 _I should introduce myself to everyone._

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you. My name is Saito Kaori, first year class two," I introduced, scanning the other seven boys that were with him.

A boy with a kind expression and grey hair shook my hand. "Sugawara Koshi, 3-4."

The next guy had long hair tied up behind his head. He looked way too old to be in high school and not to mention intimidating, but when he approached me he looked more scared of me than I was of him. He scratched the back of his head and shook my hand. "Azumane Asahi, 3-3."

The next guy was obviously shorter than the rest of the team, which was surprising for me since boys tended to be taller. The boy grinned at me and pointed at himself with his thumb. "Nishinoya Yu! 2-3!" His spirit made me feel pumped, but his bright pink shirt made me question fashion trends since it said _Strength of a Purple Elephant_.

The next boy had very short hair. He was also loud. "I AM YOUR SENPAI! SECOND YEAR IN CLASS ONE! If you need any help at school, don't be shy, just come and talk to me. If anyone tries to harm you, just tell your senpai over here and I'll make sure they never see the light of day." He started to get a dark look in his eyes at that last part.

 _Oh…how lively he is…_

Sugawara awkwardly laughed. "This is Tanaka Ryunosuke."

The other three also introduced themselves just as two more people came in. I've seen them around the first year's hall. One of them looked bored while the other just looked average and plain.

I bowed. "Saito Kaori, 1-2."

The average looking one laughed a bit. "Yamaguchi Tadashi, 1-4, and this here is Tsukishima Kei, 1-4."

"Since we're the same year we should make sure to study together when exams come up," I chuckled. "Now…" I turned back to the original group of guys. "How long were you guys watching…?"

Right when I asked, they all turned away with red faces, acting as if nothing happened. "Who knows," they all said in sync while Yamaguchi voiced his confusion.

 _They saw everything… There goes my dignity._

I felt Tsukishima watching me and it gave me the creeps. The boys dispersed around the gym when Kageyama entered.

Tanaka grabbed me and pulled me over to Kageyama, asking him if he met the boys' new manager, which I never said nor agreed to. Kageyama called him an idiot and the two got into a small fight that Sugawara had to break up before Sawamura got angry.

 _They all have such different personalities._

I later met another senpai of mine who was a manager for the boys' team, Shimizu Kiyoko. She was very beautiful and intimidating to be around, but I was used to dealing with people with strong presences. I hung around her, helping her pick up balls and watch the practice.

 _I wonder if this is what it was like back then for…_

"Oh, who are you?"

I turned around to see a blond man in his late twenties. "Saito Kaori," I replied to him. "Who are you?"

He scratched his ear and yawned. "Coach Ukai. Have fun knowing that, little girl."

"Coach Ukai…?" I looked at him, doubting him. "I though Coach Ukai was an old man."

"Hey! Do I look like an old fart to you?!"

I lifted my eyebrow. "No, hence my confusion. Sorry if it offended you."

"His grandfather is the famous Coach Ukai," Kiyoko told me.

"Why does it matter to you, huh?" he asked, looking down at me suspiciously.

I flinched and held my hands up to ward off any misconceptions. "My father used to play volleyball at this school under Coach Ukai!"

"Oh, that's all?" he asked calmly as if nothing happened. I nodded and he continued talking to me. "A descendent from a Karasuno volleyball alumni appearing in this gym? Not surprising." What I failed to notice was the strained look on his face from whatever he was thinking about.

The doors to the gym slammed open causing everyone to turn and see a huffing orange-haired boy. My eyes widened as I brought my hands over my mouth to hide my gasping breath.

 _No way…_

"Sorry for being late! I had to walk someone to school!" He bowed and quickly went to join his teammates in their practice, some jokingly giving him a hard time.

 _Hinata is on the team?! Since when? Ah...why am I so surprised?_

"Guess I thought I ruined the sport for him," I mumbled under my breath. Thankfully, no one heard me.

 _I wonder if he got more people to join his third year…I know we talked about recruitment tactics before, though I wasn't much help._

I made sure to stay hidden behind Kiyoko out of fear of crumbling under Hinata's gaze. I was impressed with his skill. It's been a little more than a year since I last watched him play and he can already do a quick. He wasn't the best at serving or receiving, but it felt a bit nostalgic to see that desire in Hinata's eyes to get the ball and the light in his eyes when he succeeded in a hit.

Calling for every ball not knowing whether you will get it or not, but still doing your best on the off chance you will receive it—that's a part of the thrill being on offense has.

"Oh no…" I laced my fingers through my hair, gripping my head.

"Is something wrong, Saito-san?" Kiyoko asked me.

I shook my head. "I just need some air."

I quietly made my way out seemingly unnoticed and breathed in some fresh air.

 _That was close. I was actually tempted to join them…_

I gazed out in the distance.

 _Would that have been so bad though?_

"Saito Sora."

I broke out of my train of thought and quickly turned around. I didn't think many students at this school knew that name.

"How do you know that name?" I asked. "You don't come off as someone who follows my prefecture's sports."

Tsukishima grinned wickedly. "Oh, but I do. And I know all about you from those news articles. You're Saito of the Sky. With a name like that, it's no wonder you got the title of Ace."

I forced a smile, trying to maintain pleasant. "I guess I'm more popular than I thought. Did you want an autograph or something?"

He scoffed. "You leave your sucky team for a better one and then give up your position and title to be a setter out of nowhere? How dramatic can it get than that?"

 _You'd be surprised…_

"All positions are important in a game. I don't remember being a bad setter."

 _What's his angle?_

"No, you weren't. But how were you as a team player?"

I bit my lip and he noticed my hesitation

 _Shit, it's starting to catch up to me._

"Before you changed your position, you bullied the previous Ace currently on the team before you joined. Even after becoming a setter, since being the Ace must have not been enough for you, you had to continue to harass her. You turned the entire team against her. What did the rumors say her name was? The American, Jennifer Smith?"

 _Is there a point even defending myself to him?_

I shook my head, not wanting to waste my breath on explaining the past so I put on a straight face. "You can believe what you want, but only I will know the real truth." I chuckled lightly. "Funny how you of all people believe in such articles when people just make money off of the truth, fabricating lies, and poking fun at the misfortune of others."

He looked at me as if I was a disgusting human being. "As if your constant bullying of that poor girl wasn't enough, you also killed someone. That's why you had to leave and transfer here, right? Because no one had proof of anything—all the school could do was to keep you away for the safety of everyone else. Guess we better watch out or else we might end up dead too."

"…" A side of me that rarely ever came out appeared: my fight-or-flight mode, my adrenaline, my anger, my bottled-up emotions. I stepped up to Tsukishima and glared at him. Even if I was shorter, I wasn't intimidated by him. He was talking about something he couldn't even begin to comprehend. "Don't talk as if you know me. We're not friends and you don't know what the hell I've been through all this time, so shut the fuck up." I didn't expect him to, and I don't think he expected himself to either, but he stepped back from me in shock. I cocked my head slightly to the side. "Am I really the monster here in your one-sided point of view?"

Tsukishima looked disoriented, opposite from his usual uncaring and sadistic demeanor from before.

He looked to be reconsidering what he said. "Just forget this ever happened." He disappeared backed into the gym.

I gently slapped my cheeks with my hands to snap myself out of my alarmed state. I didn't want to think of unpleasant things right now or the colorful words I just let slip out of my mouth.

 _So much for appearances…_

I sighed, trying to calculate how I would be spending the rest of my time.

* * *

 **Kageyama's POV-**

I overheard Tsukishima and Saito's conversation. I couldn't even understand how any of what Tsukishima said applied to Saito, then again, I never knew her in the past. Saito didn't even try to clear things up, but she may or may not have had a reason for that.

 _I should research this during lunch in the library._

I monitored Saito to see how she was doing in class. She didn't return to the gym after talking to Tsukishima. She looked physically fine from what I could see, but her mind was elsewhere.

While Saito was lost in her thoughts, I noticed Hinata staring at her for long periods of time. It was suspicious since he looked more alert than usual in class. Then again, he wasn't paying attention to the lecture but Saito.

 _Did he figure it out or does he just have a fetish for girls named Kaori?_

When lunch began I pushed Saito out of the room until we found her old friend Miura. I left Saito with her and headed for the library without saying a word of explaination.

 _I can't have them making contact just yet. If he does recognize the obvious fact, then his confrontation with her will only put her in a worse state than she already is._

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

"You and Kageyama-san look close," Aria commented while I was fuming about said boy pushing me around and leaving me without saying anything.

"I suppose we are friends," I replied, stabbing my apple juice box with a straw.

"I'm surprised. You two have entirely different personas… Well the you now anyways."

"Don't get me wrong. If I were to predict who in my class I would become friends with…" I looked up at the hallway's ceiling in thought. "…he wouldn't have been in the top ten."

Aria chuckled lightheartedly. "Then why are you two close?"

I stopped walking and Aria looked at me questioningly. I scrunched my face up. "I don't quite understand how things got the way they are now…but I'd like to think that fate has a way of making this world feel smaller than it appears." I smiled softly.

"You're being a weirdo right now, Kaori-chan…"

I gave Aria a pained grin. "I'm alone with my thoughts a lot."

"Whatever, let's go eat with my friends."

* * *

 **Kageyama's POV-**

"Saito Kaori of Hakuryo Academy…," I whispered to myself, searching the web for any articles on her. Surprisingly enough, over a thousand articles came up; some being about her success in volleyball as a wing spiker and others about her being a setter. Apparently, she's a big name in the upper division of High School Girls' Volleyball.

Nothing seemed out of place. Only criticisms, praises, and a few exposes on Saito when she first qualified for high school level volleyball when she was only in middle school.

I clicked on a video of one of Saito's matches and scrolled through the comments. They were all positi-

"Burn in Hell, Bitch…," I read to myself in disbelief as I scrolled. It wasn't just that comment there were more following it.

 _You're not all that good._

 _Stop showing off. Slut._

 _You're purposely not giving the ball to Smith-chan! You should be pulled out of the match!_

 _Murderer._

 _Fake Bitch._

 _Free-loader._

 _Gold-digger._

 _Try-hard._

 _Did you sleep with the Coaches to get into the high school league as a regular?_

I exited out of the video and slammed my fist into the desk, causing people to look at me in surprise and the librarian to glare at me and say, "Shhh!" I gestured an apology and gritted my teeth.

I scrolled further through the results in the computer's search engine and found articles discussing how Saito supposedly bullied some girl named Jennifer Smith. There were classmates and teammates who admitted to witnessing these events.

It was hard to believe anything I was reading.

Dumping water on Jennifer Smith, blackmailing her into getting her Lasik eye surgery, cutting her hair, beating her, purposely giving her a hard time during matches, destroying her personal items, vandalizing her clothes and locker, stalking, sexual harassment, stealing her lover, torturing her, trashing her desk, the list goes on.

None of what I was reading looked like anything Saito was capable of doing. Then again, I don't know her all that well. What if she's putting up a show?

I shook my head at the thought. I needed to have faith in her. Saito wouldn't have quit volleyball if she was bullying someone to get ahead.

That's when I saw a headline article from an online copy of Hakuryo Academy's newsletter. In big bold print it read **_Hakuryo Academy Murderer_**. There were no specifics on the identity of the deceased individual, but the article claimed that Saito, after inflicting pain on Jennifer Smith, went off in a rush to take out someone Jennifer cared for deeply. There were reports of Saito covered in someone else's blood. There was no word spoken regarding the incident from Saito, but witnesses claimed they saw the whole scene. The weapon involved differed from each person to a bat, a gun, or a knife. The school and hospitals involved also refused to give out any information to confirm or set rumors to rest.

There were criticisms online of concerned parents wanting Saito to be taken to jail, an asylum, given the death penalty, or pulled out of school. Parents, locals, and students protested for the police to investigate the crime scene and find evidence to convict Saito Kaori, but the police refused claiming that matters were to be kept private upon the request of the family of the deceased.

There were parties and articles praising the fact that the _murderer_ had finally left. There were people who cursed Kaori to misfortune and compared her to the Devil.

 _This…_

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

When I tried to talk to Kageyama regarding what he felt so inclined to do after grabbing me and ditching me out of nowhere, he shook me off, telling me he needed some time to think.

I took it as some sort of internal conflict he was having in volleyball.

 _Maybe he's having boy problems… Do boys have a time of the month?_

After school ended, I was asked out to karaoke by a group of girls. I smiled at them and looked over to Kageyama as if he could save me the effort I would need to politely refuse their offer. He didn't make eye contact with me and left as if nothing was happening. I didn't think he'd really do anything to help me in the first place, and this seemed like a normal reaction from him, but it hurt me for some reason. This felt different.

 _Did I do something wrong…?_

"Hey."

I gasped as my wrist was roughly tugged out of the circle of girls. I stumbled through, managing to stabilize myself before colliding into the person who grabbed me. All the girls turned and looked in surprise at who pulled me; even I was at a loss of words at who it was.

"Hinata-san…," I said, addressing my captor.

He gave me a hard stare that caused me to flinch. I felt my entire body tense up at how his grip on my wrist tightened and how his gaze seemed to penetrate me as if to obliterate my existence.

"T-That hurts," I said, trying to pull away from him.

"I need to-"

"You're hurting her!" one of my classmates shouted as her and a few other girls pulled us apart, taking Hinata by surprised. My heart was racing so fast that I didn't notice that I was holding my breath from the moment I saw him. While Hinata was being interrogated by my classmates, I fled the room with my things.

The only thought ringing through my head was that he knew. He knew who I was. He knew I was Saito Kaori, his ex-girlfriend. There was no better explanation for what he did.

I waited in front of my brother's school for two hours until he finished. He looked guilty for some reason, but wouldn't say anything. I pretended that I wasn't waiting for hours and we walked together in silence.

Dinner was silent. My mother looked as if she wanted to say something, but decided against it since it would most likely end in someone at this table slamming their bedroom door.

I felt overwhelmed. I didn't know what to feel other than scared. I looked out my window to see if Kageyama was in his room so I could talk to him, but his window was shut and his curtains were closed. Something was up with Kageyama too and I can't even find out because of this situation with Hinata. I was alone in this problem and for all I knew, Kageyama could be done with me.

* * *

 **Kageyama's POV-**

I made up my mind that there was some bullshit in those reports on Saito. The way Saito looked when in deep thought and in the rain that night was genuine. There had to be something more to this story than what is online—a missing link.

Where was Saito's side of the story?

That day, Saito didn't show up at school. She didn't show up for two days in a row to be exact. The teacher said that she was sick, but that didn't seem like the case to me. She shut herself inside her house.

Later that night, I made my way to her doorstep and rang the bell. Her mother answered and I gave an excuse that I came to drop off Saito's homework and the notes she missed. I added that I needed to explain the directions to her to justify letting me in. Her mother brought me up to Saito's room where she knocked and called out for Saito to open the door.

 _It's locked?_

"Honey, your classmate is here. Please open up," Kaori's mother pleaded. There was no response back. She sighed and turned to me apologetically. "She's been locked up in her room for the past two days…not even her brother can get her out…. I'm sorry for the trouble."

I pushed away the apology. "It's no trouble. Would you mind if I try?"

She nodded and left. I sat down against the wall next to her door and knocked on it.

"Oi, I know you can hear me, Stupid."

"…"

"I'm not here to go over homework if you think I'm just going to leave the work here and go."

"…"

 _Threatening her won't motivate her to do anything._

"We need to talk."

"…" I heard shuffling from behind the door, but no footsteps.

"Do I need to explain everything?" I made sure to sound irritated on purpose. I heard quiet taps within the room inch towards the door. "I guess I might as well explain, right? You ARE sick and can't think properly right now... I overheard your conversation with Tsukishima, and I've done a little research myself."

Nothing response.

"For one story you can find a variety of versions, but they all lack one component. Saito Kaori, just what happened to you to make you look so hopeless?"

After a few moments, I heard a click and a creak. I turned over to the door as it slowly opened enough for Saito to show me half of her face. She looked like a mess. She had bags under her eyes, her hair was a mess, her eyes looked dull, and her face was stained with tears that were not recent. She disappeared into her room, but left the door open slightly. I took that as my cue to come inside and lock the door behind me. She curled up on her bed, her back against the bed frame, a pillow clutched against her in her arms. I pulled out her desk chair and sat in front of her.

"How did someone like you who had it all fall to this?"

"…I'm broken," she said in a raspy voice, looking at the wall behind me.

That made no sense at all, but I needed to be patient with her. I needed to control how impatient I was slowly getting.

"Is what the people in Osaka say about you true?"

"…" She hid her face in her pillow and I saw her shoulders shake as she furiously shook her head 'no.'

I crossed my arms and leaned back in my seat. "Okay, I believe you."

"What?!" her head snapped up to me in confusion and shock. "B-But, why?"

"We're friends, right? You have no benefit in lying to me."

"We're still friends…? I assumed you gave up on me…"

"I've just been thinking, trying to process everything. I made a promise to you, remember? Don't forget it."

"… Hinata-san, I think, knows who I am now… He tried to confront me after school three days ago… Kageyama-san… I'm not a murderer or a bully… I never did anything wrong to her, but of course…who would listen to me? I'm nobody."

"I will."

That night, our bond deepened. I may not have heard her story, but all she had to tell me was that everything online was a lie. Her plea of innocence was all I needed at the moment as I let her cry her heart out.

Saito Kaori is a shattered sky. She's a fallen crow in her own world and she can't seem to get back up again.

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

"Who am I, Kageyama-san?" I asked after calming down.

"You…are you."

I threw a throw pillow at him, which he easily dodged. "I'm being serious here…"

"I'm being serious too. We all want to be somebody we're not. Wouldn't you already know that though? You go through every day holding up a façade that you're okay when you're not." Kageyama rummaged under my bed and pulled out what he was looking for. He unfolded my red glasses, cleaned the lenses with his shirt, and leaned forward to slip them onto my face; tucking my hair behind my ears in the process. My vision became blurry due to the prescription on my glasses, but I didn't mind the distortion. "Saito Kaori is you. You are Saito Kaori. So why are you confused?"

"That's my problem…," I mumbled, dealing with the stain my glasses had on my eyes.

 _What does it mean to be Saito Kaori?_

"Then that's something you need to find out for yourself. Are you the Saito Kaori who left this town or are you Saito Sora?"

I laughed half-heartedly. "Guess I'm going through an identity crisis."

I slowly slipped off my glasses and held them up to my gaze. "I may not know who I am now, but I'm no longer the Saito Kaori from a year and a half ago…that's for sure." I slipped back on my glasses and looked over to my companion. "I can't see through those eyes anymore."

That night, I told Kageyama the first of many stories of my time in Osaka. He is the one who will never leave my side and that is something I haven't had for a good long while.

* * *

 **Kageyama's POV-**

I managed to convince Kaori to come to school the next day with me. She walked a little in front of me, pulling on a cheerful attitude that was partly fake and partly sincere. I stared at her from behind.

There was a heavy weight on her shoulders, but she still held her head up high, even if it wasn't real. Fake it till you are it, right?

Last night, our friendship deepened as embarrassing as it was to even think about let alone say aloud. This friendship thing was all too new for me, especially with a girl.

I vowed to save her from the hole she managed to fall in. Despite my resolve there was a part of me that had to wonder if she dug the hole herself.

It's hard to believe that her rich teammates were the ones to pressure her into getting Lasik eye surgery with all expenses paid. The articles and online chatrooms I read said Saito knew Jennifer before she moved to Osaka and threatened Jennifer into getting the surgery or else her family would pay. The apparent reports sound a bit farfetched since Saito isn't a gangster.

Saito Kaori lost her sight even if the surgery was created to perfect vision.

I didn't need to question Saito of the false reports. It was obvious that the rich people there had the money and status to alter information and make appealing lies.

I sighed, causing Saito to look over her shoulder.

"Nothing," I said. She shrugged and continued her pace.

 _Now how to deal with Hinata… No doubt he'll try to confront her no matter what today. I can try to guard her, but for how long? This will happen eventually._

"Oi, let's go get coffee." I grabbed her arm.

"But practice…"

"I'll go late." Saito gasped in disbelief and put her hand on my forehead, asking me if I was feeling alright. I growled and nearly bit off her hand.

We changed routes and sat down at a nearby café.

"Hinata will most likely try everything he can to talk to you today if what you said last night was true," I said, mixing my coffee while Kaori sipped at hers.

Her eyes held a melancholy tone in them as she gazed out the window. "I don't know what to say to him other than to apologize for everything…but that won't solve anything… In truth, I'm afraid of his reaction. What will he say to me? How will we be after we talk? Will I just lie more? I don't like being unsure of the future."

"I don't think dragging this out longer would make things any better."

"You're right. Of course you're right."

 _This is going to sound strange…but…_

"…Do you still love him?" She looked at me in surprise, but did not respond so I cleared my throat and repeated myself. "Do you still love Hinata?"

"…" She put a hand over her heart and turned her gaze back to the window. "There will always be a place for him in my heart. If he were to show up out of nowhere and ask me to be his again…that…. I am not clear on. Imagining and the reality of things are completely different. If I said no, can we be friends again? If I said yes, will we be happy? Taking a chance on being with him sounds great, but…."

"But?"

"But I'm not good for him. I've told you this before in my room, right?" I nodded. "Presently, I just need the strength to get through the confrontation."

 _If strength is what you need and I can't be there with you… Ah, I got it!_

"Give me your left hand," I ordered, digging through my bag for a marker. Saito gave me a suspicious look, but complied nonetheless.

"Strength?" Saito questioned, reading the characters I was writing on her palm.

I nodded, giving her hand back. "Since I can't be there with you when you two talk, just look at this and know that you can get through it in one piece."

Saito looked as if she wanted to cry after her initial shock from my explanation, but fought back the tears. "Let's go…"

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

As we continued our walk to school, I couldn't stop looking at my palm.

 _Strength…_

I smiled to myself, touched deeply by the gesture.

 _I feel stable enough to start telling him more now… Strength. Strength!_

"Kageyama-san. In those articles online, Jennifer Smith…was someone who betrayed me." Kageyama sped up a bit to walk beside me just in case I broke down and he needed to catch me. I frowned and took a deep breath before continuing. "She was the first person to open up to me and welcome me into Hakuryo Academy. She would stand up for me when my own teammates would ridicule me. We became best friends…she knows everything about me." He listened silently to me. "…our friendship was a lie though. She only pretended to like me and used everything I shared with her against me. She used our friendship to get me to do things I would never do... It was like I was a doll stuck playing her game."

We got to the hall that led to the boys' club room where the boys changed in.

"We'll talk later, alright?" I said, waving Kageyama away. He nodded in understanding and gave my shoulder a squeeze before leaving me.

I let out a long breath and finished my coffee, tossing the cup in a nearby trashcan.

 **Flashback Start:**

"This guy you loved, Hinata Shoyo was it?" Jennifer said to me as we were eating lunch together. I nodded and frowned from the heartache I still had for him. "I know what can heal a broken heart! You need to find a new love! Someone else to invest all your affection into!"

"I don't think it's that simple, Jenny." It was a bit amusing to see Jennifer gushing over her plans.

"Oh Riri-chan, please." She waved off my disbelief in her. "Trust me in this. Let's go watch the boys' team practice today."

Somehow the girls' and boys' teams were practicing together that day. I would like to think that Jennifer had something to do with it, but it didn't seem to make sense for her to have that kind of pull.

Practicing with the guys' team was fun since their personalities were all outgoing and eager to play. They would help the girls' team with techniques and play _friendly_ matches against us. I was proud to be one of the few girls who could withstand their spikes.

"Nice job. Saito Kaori, right?" I turned to see the Ace of the boys' team talking to none other than me. I fidgeted and played with the sides of my shorts.

"T-That's me…"

"We're not properly introduced. My name is Suzuki Ren." I didn't need the introduction. I've heard my teammates as well as classmates gossiping about him more than a thousand times.

I could see why. He had a nice, refined face. He had messy dirty blond hair that he pushed back with an elastic headband. His eyes were a lovely honey hue that made you melt when he was doing something he was truly passionate about.

I bowed. "I've heard a lot about you, Suzuki-senpai."

"Hahaha, no need to be so stiff, Kaori-chan!"

That was the start of our friendship. Later, Jennifer, Ren, and I became a close trio. Of course, Ren didn't know as much about me in comparison to Jennifer. Ren helped me to get Hinata off of my mind.

 **Flashback End:**

"How was morning practice?" I asked Kageyama when he got to class.

"The usual," he replied, assuming I knew what a usual day was for him.

During our break, we escaped the room in time before Hinata could confront me. We sought refuge at an outdoor vending machine and chatted about nothing important. Sure I was doing most of the talking, but that was normal for a girl and a guy. Guys don't usually have much to say in comparison. I suppose girls just like talking. It makes us feel important, which was a feeling I wasn't accustomed to.

Upon returning to class, I found a note on my desk. I picked it up and read it over.

 _It's from Hinata…_

Kageyama looked at me questioningly.

"It's from Hinata-san… He wants me to meet him after practice at the shoe lockers."

After school, I wasted time, gave myself pep talks, and waited in front of Nao's school. I walked him home while he kept asking me if I was alright. I kept trying to reassure him I was thanks to Kageyama, but Nao being who he is, didn't believe me one bit.

I quickly rushed to school, leaving my bag at home. I was hoping that Hinata didn't leave yet and I was also hoping that he did leave. I looked at my phone as I slowed into a walk once I hit the school gates. I was fifteen minutes late. I bit my lip and headed to the main entrance to see if he was even still there. I quietly made my way towards my aisle. I peeked inside it and nearly ran away upon seeing Hinata's back. He was staring at the time on his phone eagerly. He was still in his clothes from practice with the exception of his volleyball jacket.

I looked at my palm and quietly took in a deep breath.

 _Strength._

"Hinata-san?" I called out, putting on a concerned face. "You wanted to talk?" He quickly turned around. He looked more surprised to see me than how scared I was to see him on the inside. "Sorry for being late… I had something to do."

"You're here now that's all that matters." Hinata stepped over to me holding up his arms to hug me, but stopping at the same time. He rubbed his arms awkwardly as I stood in front of him.

He looked into my eyes and all I saw was pain, conflict, confusion, betrayal, and longing. My chest felt so heavy.

 _Where is the hate in his eyes?_

"Hin-"

"You're Saito Kaori, right?"

I looked at him as if he was asking a foolish question because, well, he was. "Yes I am."

"No. That's not what I meant... Are you MY Kaori-chan…?"

I took a step back unconsciously from his rephrasing.

 _H-His Kaori-chan?_

I cleared my throat and composed myself. I kept reminding myself of the strength Kageyama provided me. "Yes and no. We were together through middle school, but I'm not that girl anymore."

Hinata looked confused. I sighed and pulled out my glasses and placed them on my face. "I no longer need these because my vision is perfect now. I'm surprised you didn't realize it was me from day one… Am I that different?"

"W…Why…." Hinata gave up holding himself back and pulled me over to him in a tight embrace. "Why didn't you tell me…? You acted like we were two complete strangers…" His shoulders were shaking as he nuzzled his face into my shoulder. My fingers bent out in different directions. I wanted to hold him too, but I couldn't bring myself to. "I'm such an idiot… You were right in front of me and yet I even treated you as a stranger."

This wasn't right.

"…Why aren't you yelling at me?" I asked, tearing up. I quickly gripped his jacket and shouted, "Aren't you mad that I broke up with you? That I didn't need you anymore? That I've moved on? That I don't love you anymore?" I tightened my grip on his jacket. "Why? Tell me why you're being too kind to me…"

I felt pathetic for crying and Hinata was probably crying too, but only small tears, not the waterfalls that were coming out of me.

I started to hit Hinata's back, getting more and more lost in what I have been caught up in believing for the past year. "Yell at me! Hit me! Curse my name! You're angry, right?!"

"I've never believed in your words that day…," he mumbled, tightening his grip on me as my hits grew softer and softer. "I was in denial. That's what everyone said anyways. I guess you can say I found an outlet in volleyball even if there wasn't a team at our school. I couldn't sleep for weeks. I just couldn't figure out why you did what you did…until I found out by chance."

 _Found out…?_

"I overheard your old teammates talking about you when I continued to train with them. They said you had no choice in moving and didn't want to go through with long-distance if it would hold me back from any opportunities I could have being happy with another girl. How could I hate you for that? Sure, I was pissed off some days, but in the end, I would always remember all the little things I loved about you…and the sacrifice you made for what you believed would bring me happiness…."

 _Shoyo…_

"You've always been too kind to me… You think too highly of me… I'm just the bad girl who left you in the park."

"You disappeared from my life once already; I don't want to lose you again now that I've found you."

Against my will, I pulled away from Hinata and backed away. He looked hurt, but I looked down at the ground. "I'm not good enough for you anymore. I don't even know who I am anymore. I've selfishly put you through so much just so I wouldn't feel guilty. We can't pick up where we left off just like that."

 _And despite everything…I still feel guilty…_

My knees gave out from the anxiety I was getting in this moment. I slid down to the floor, sitting on my butt with both of my legs beside me. A worried Hinata came and bent down in front of me. He cupped my face in his hands and wiped away the tears that were falling down my face. Neither of us said anything anymore. Hinata just held me in his arms and we both took advantage of the situation to soak up each other's presence. With the contact we had, I could feel new muscles on Hinata.

 _He's changed too…it's not just me… He looks…a little more grown-up._

"I don't know if I still love you anymore…but I do know that you're someone I want to always have in my life…," he said to me. I backed out a bit enough for him to be face to face with me. I slowly slid my hands up to his face to bring his face gently down so I could kiss his forehead. I nodded in agreement with what he said to which he returned with a big smile. "You really have changed, Kaori-chan."

I laughed through my sore throat and runny nose. "More than physically?"

"Definitely more than physically." We shared a happy moment together until he noticed something and grabbed my left hand. "Strength…?" I laughed awkwardly as his confusion broke out into full-blown amusement. "You didn't change much! Hahaha!"

I pulled back my hand and held it to my chest. "B-Be quiet! Do you know how hard it was for me to come here!?"

"I had the same problem too! How do you think it feels to formally see your ex-girlfriend again?!"

 _That's right…I'm his ex…_

We both grew silent until I broke the ice that Hinata had created. "What are we now…?"

"…friends?"

"I'd like that…," I replied, collapsing back into his arms, missing the warmth and feelings they gave me. I was tired from crying too much this past week. I didn't even think I had this much tears left in me.

 _Hinata Shoyo is the boy I had once loved and had once lost. Who knows what the future will hold for us, but I don't want to be the one to hurt him again…_

It was awkward, but Hinata walked me home. We walked side by side, staring completely forward, not risking any touches or gazes.

From my front gate, I could see Kageyama's window open and ready for me to come through. He would want a full report on only the important things.

I turned to Hinata and bowed. "Thank you for walking me home, Hinata-san."

"I-It's no big deal!" Hinata reasoned. His face was red as he scratched the back of his head. "You don't have to be so formal with me, you know."

"…Hmm. Fine, let me say this. We have both changed over this past year, and we need to get to know one another all over again. Until that day, Hinata-kun it is."

"I can live with that."

"Good." I have him a thumbs-up and turned to unlock my gate.

"Go to practice tomorrow morning!" I quickly turned to him, shocked at the invitation. "I want to see you in the early mornings in the gym." I could tell how nervous he was asking this of me. It was cute.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow morning then, Hinata-kun." I leaned over to him and kissed his forehead before going through my gate and up to my front door.

* * *

 **Kageyama's POV-**

"It's good that you two…somewhat…made-up," I said, trying to work on my homework while Saito was lying on my bed with a moist towel over her face.

"There was so much left unsaid though…"

"It can't be helped. You were both overcome with…feelings. You'll get the issues you need to eventually."

 _Since she's coming tomorrow morning, I should try to get her to play._

"…My face isn't ready to be so wrinkly and swollen from crying…"

"Not my problem, besides, your face always looks swollen," I said, holding my hand out in time to catch a pillow that was hurled in my direction.

"I'm going to be the thorn in your side in this friendship," she said, half-jokingly as she sat up, removing the towel from her face. "Ever since we've met, things have finally felt as if they're getting back on track again…"

"Hm."

I froze when I felt something lean against my back, or should I say someone. "Thank you, for being here for me." Saito's words rang through my ears as she backed off of me. "You're like my lucky charm." I stared at her with a tiny streak of blush on my face. She held up her left hand and traced the word 'strength' with her right finger.

"Tch, stupid girl," I muttered after she left for the night. I covered the ear she whispered in with my hand unconsciously as I went back to my work.

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

"Morning, Shimizu-senpai," I called out.

"Watching again today, Saito-san?" she asked, pushing out the ball cart from the storage area.

I nodded. "Here to help if needed as well."

I socialized with the guys that recognized my presence and avoided Tsukishima. Hinata bolted into the gym and ran over to me, grabbing me by my shoulders. He shook me a bit as if to see if I was real.

"Good morning, Hinata-kun," I giggled, making him stop shaking me.

"You made it!" he chirped. "Hahaha. This is like back then when I would watch you practice."

"You two know each other?" Yamaguchi asked.

"We attended the same middle school," I answered, seeing Tsukishima moving towards the group.

"Did you play volleyball there?" Yamaguchi asked.

"Did she?! She was amazing! She wasn't any ordinary player. She was the Ace!" Hinata started to boast about me, much to my discomfort as I tried to hush him.

"Guess you were always so cocky," Tsukishima said under his breath, but no one seemed to notice except for me.

 _This guy…_

I watched in silence as Hinata would always call for my attention to watch him spike. I would always smile at him and wave. He did this so much that Nishinoya and Tanaka were copying him. I could tell how annoyed Kageyama was getting by this, but what could I do about it?

While the boys were on a water break, Kiyoko and I gathered up all the balls. Kageyama walked up to me and glared into my soul. I flinched, but didn't take it personally since he can't really control his face.

"You…set the ball for this side while I use the bathroom." Kageyama patted my shoulder and ran away, leaving me dumbfounded with an eager line of boys.

 _S-Set?_

Sugawara patted my shoulder and apologized for the inconvenience Kageyama gave me. He offered to give me pointers on setting and even went as far as to say that I could just simply throw the ball up for them. I just smiled politely and thanked him for the advice, not bothering to mention that I was pretty familiar with the position already. I wasn't proud of it my familiarity with tossing. I didn't want to play volleyball anymore, but I suppose I could make an exception to help the boys practice.

The boys on my side weren't expecting much from me, but were thankful for the help. Hinata started to complain how he wanted to switch to my side of the court, but Tanaka wouldn't let him. He instead boasted to Hinata about how he was on my side.

"Let's start," I called out, picking up a ball. "I'll toss this to you and you just hit it to me and get ready to spike, alright?"

Azumane, who was first in line, smiled at me and held up an okay sign. "Do your best."

We both did as I said. I got under the ball he returned to me and tossed it towards the side of the court where he was ready. I shut my eyes just as the ball made contact with the floor.

"Nice job, Saito-chan," Azumane said, giving me a thumbs-up.

"Beginner's luck?" I reasoned, moving onto the next boy in line. It would be a lie if I said that I wasn't enjoying this or that my feet weren't hurting. I was doing this in my indoor shoes.

Once the cart was empty and the boys in my line went to pick them up, I pulled Yamaguchi to the side to advise him on his form. I guess it might have been weird for someone like me to give him advice, but he nodded along. I could see the doubt in his eyes though.

"How about I show you what I mean?" I offered.

"Ah, that's alright, Saito-chan," Yamaguchi said.

"Nonsense!" I replied, kicking off my shoes. It was strange, but I forgot that I didn't want to take off my socks and went to retrieve my shoes. "Pardon my landing. I'm working with what I have."

"Really you don't have to-"

"Ennoshita-senpai, do you mind if I take this one?" I asked, wandering over to Sugawara's side.

"Go ahead," he gestured, as the guys in line gave me space.

"Yamaguchi-san, watch my timing when I pull back my arm and back over again," I shouted to him, showing the motion as I explained. "Sugawara-senpai, please."

* * *

 **Kageyama's POV-**

I wandered back into the gym after pretending to go to the bathroom. I was watching what was happening through the windows. I walked in in time to see Saito spike the ball right on the line on the other side of the court. When she landed, she slipped due to the poor traction on her shoes. I was about to run over and help her until Nishinoya came out of nowhere and caught her before her butt could land on the floor.

"Are you okay, Saito-chan?" he asked, genuinely worried.

Saito's face heated up. "Y-Yeah. I figured this would happen; my shoes aren't made for playing after all. Heh-heh… Thank you, Nishinoya-senpai."

He grinned. "Nice shot though." Then what Saito said finally sunk into him. "S-S-S-Senpai?!"

"Ah!" Saito used Nishinoya to get back up on her feet and looked over to Yamaguchi. "Do you get what I mean now? If you're not turning your shoulders to bring your arm back, your momentum will be off."

"T-Thank you, Saito-chan! I'll keep that in mind!" Yamaguchi shouted, standing up straight.

 _She's helping beyond what I asked her to do._

"So cool!" Hinata shouted as he fawned over Saito's shot.

"That wasn't my best, Hinata-kun," Saito said sheepishly.

Tsukishima scoffed, causing everyone to look at him. "You are the type to think so much of yourself."

"… Excuse me?" Saito asked, narrowing her eyes slightly. She was becoming defensive.

 _Not this idiot…_

I jogged over and stood beside Saito with my arms crossed.

"Saito Sora, the Ace of Hakuryo Academy who was later known as the starting setter of Hakuryo Academy. Now she is just a phony." He stopped there, but I could tell he wanted to say more. Some of the members gasped upon hearing the prestige of Saito's skills based on the team she was previously on and the fact that she played as a regular as both a wing spiker and a setter.

"What of it?" Saito asked, her muscles tensing up.

Tsukishima shrugged. "Isn't it just strange that you haven't joined the girls' team here yet?"

Saito's hands balled into fists. "It's my decision to join and I have rejected the offer multiple times already."

"Why? Do you look down on our school just because we were not as glamorous as your old one?"

"You haven't joined the volleyball team yet?" Hinata questioned, utterly speechless at this new piece of information. "Volleyball is your favorite sport!"

Tsukishima was trying to provoke Saito to get her to respond negatively in front of everyone while Hinata was only making the situation worse.

I was about to speak up to defend Saito, but she spoke up first. "Is it wrong to see the flaws in your own technique? To want to always get better? To get as close to perfection as you possibly can? I don't think highly of myself, Tsukishima-san. I just play and improve."

"Hey, let's get back to practice!" Sawamura called out, clapping his hands to get everyone's attention.

I felt useless for not being able to help Saito, but maybe it was for the best. How would I defend her? I didn't even know why she passionately refused to join the volleyball team. Saito left practice early for the classroom.

"Why do you refuse to play volleyball on a team?" I asked her, sitting down in my seat.

"…I have a lot of…scars from playing." She avoided eye contact with me.

"You seemed fine in that match we had before and today during practice."

"…I don't have the confidence to play on a competitive team anymore… Dealing with other people and trying to make them happy…it's scary to comply with demands you do not wish to…"

"It's your choice who you give the ball to."

She sighed. "I'm not talking about people demanding I give them the ball or any pressure for not doing one move instead of another."

The teacher came inside as the bell sounded, so I couldn't press her further on the subject until break.

"Were you trying to please your teammates?" I followed after her down the hall.

"This again? Yes, I was always seeking their confirmation. If they couldn't trust me, how could we play efficiently?"

I thought back to when I first met her and she hesitated to touch my volleyball before I spoke up next. "They trusted you because you were afraid of what they were capable of."

She stopped in her tracks and looked out the nearby window, putting her hand against the glass. I knew I hit the target on this one.

"Volleyball…isn't fun for me anymore, but I still love the sport and yet hate it at the same time."

"What did your teammates do to you?"

"…" Her fingers curled against the window. "Train me to make me a better player…"

"I find that hard to believe."

"I was adequate to them, and to make me on their level they would give me extra lessons. I would do so much to get faster to withstand the pain of falling or returning hard serves. I had to jump higher than anyone else receiving a toss. I wanted so much to be accepted by them…" Saito looked torn, as if she was trying her hardest not to break down in tears.

I knew this was painful for her to talk about, and yet I pressed on. "What kind of lessons exactly?"

Saito grabbed my wrist and pulled me along back to class. She didn't want to talk about it anymore. After gym class, I waited outside of the girls' locker room for her. One of my classmates noticed me, but instead of thinking I was a pervert they treated me casually.

"Ah, Kageyama-san. Are you waiting for Saito-chan? She's changing in the bathroom stalls right now. She's uncomfortable changing in front of people. It's cute how insecure and embarrassed she is about it."

 _Her? Embarrassed to change in front of other girls? The same girl who thinks it's perfectly fine to climb up to her roof at night, the girl who casually comes into my room through the window when she needs someone to talk to, who just lies in a guy's bed with no concern._

"Do you want me to call her for you?" I shook my head and left.

At lunch, I left Saito with Hinata. I searched and eventually found Miura coming back from the vending machine.

"Kageyama-san! What a surprise to see you here. Are you looking for Kaori-chan?" Miura's friends watched me with rosy cheeks, but I didn't care about their existence.

"No, I wanted to ask you something."

"Really?" She waved her friends away. "Go for it." She crossed her arms, intrigued.

"When you were in middle school with her, did you ever notice anything off about her?"

Miura's shoulders slumped. "You're talking about Kaori-chan, right?" I nodded. "I should have known that was what you wanted to talk about. Well, Kaori-chan and I were only close because of volleyball. We never had any classes together, but from what her classmates would gossip about, she was a loner. She would avoid people as much as possible. If someone asked her for help on an assignment, she would become startled and run away or make an excuse to leave. The only person she seemed to get along with well were her teammates, but only during practice. Outside of practice she was a train wreck. She would fumble over her words and it was amusing when she would blurt out the most random of things. She was an anxious person, which was why everyone was surprised when out of nowhere Hinata-san could communicate so well with her. She was so animated when talking with him that people wanted to talk to her too, but when they tried she would still be afraid."

"I can't imagine that…"

 _She had some sort of alter ego on the court?_

"Haha. You can't imagine it because now she's more sociable. Anyways, Hinata-san was the one who helped to push Kaori-chan to interact with people. I guess it's thanks to him she was finally able to get over her pesky flaw."

"Was there anything else that came off as strange to you?"

"What are you looking for exactly?"

"Was she ever afraid to change in front of girls back then?"

"…Are you some kind of pervert or something…?"

My face flushed as I realized how inappropriate my question must have seemed. Well, I was already too far gone at this point. "Just answer me."

"No, Hentai-san. She was not afraid to strip in front of girls. Now boys on the other hand…"

"Just shut up! I'm not a pervert!" I stomped off in anger and embarrassment.

 _Why does she not change in front of girls now…? Dammit this sounds so wrong._

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

"Do you wear contacts now?" Hinata asked as we were eating lunch in the classroom.

I shook my head. "I got Lasik eye surgery done, so I don't need glasses anymore."

"Ahh, what a shame. I thought they looked nice on you. They were like your signature." I blushed and shoved some rice in my mouth, staying silent.

 _Not like I originally wanted this from the start… Though there are benefits to not having glasses._

"Why did you think that lying to me was better than talking out the situation with me?"

"I didn't want to be a burden to you. You were always there for me at my games and in the classroom when it was hard for me to talk to others. I felt as if you've sacrificed too much for me and I've done nothing but selfishly take every gesture you gave me. I didn't want to make it worse by us trying to make long-distance work. Knowing you, you'd be the one to reassure me that we could accomplish anything."

"I was happy with what I did for you. In all honesty, I felt pretty useless only watching. I would always be thinking what I could do for you that would help you or show you that I cared. I wasn't good at volleyball at the time, so I couldn't play with you or give you some pointers. You had your dad for that anyways. Volleyball was a big part of your life, and I was upset a lot that I couldn't do anything to be in that part of your life."

"But you play better now," I pointed out.

He pointed back at me, laughing. "Yes, I do."

"What position are you? Wing spiker?" I asked. He looked to the side and mumbled something nearly incoherent. All I heard was that he was a regular. "What? Speak louder, I can't hear you."

"Decoy…"

"Decoy?"

"It's lame, I know! Everyone on the team tells me how important I am, but I want a cooler title like Ace!"

I smiled. "I think being called a decoy is pretty cool." He looked at me in shock. "You have the hardest job of getting the opposing team's attention, right? You must be that good if you can divert attention like that. People must underestimate you a lot, so I think this position suits you. Though, I haven't seen you go all out in a game yet."

 _I can see people underestimating you for your height though._

"Come to our next game then!"

"When is that?"

"…I'll get back to you on that… Heh."

"Other than a decoy, what are you? A decoy isn't exactly a set position."

"Middle blocker!"

 _Oh a middle blocker? That's gr-_

"Excuse me…what?"

 _But…you're so…short…_

"Kaori-chan… Why did you say that you rejected joining the girls' team here?" he asked, ignoring where our conversation was leading probably for the sake of his pride.

"Ah, that…" I didn't know what to say. I didn't want to lie to him again, but I wasn't comfortable talking about this right now. "I just don't want to play anymore…"

Hinata grabbed both of my hands out of nowhere. He pushed our hands together to form a large fist. He looked at me dead in the eyes and asked, "Who made you want to quit?"

 _Of course he would be the one to know something was up…_

"It's no big deal, Hinata-kun. It's just a sport."

"A sport? Just a sport?" His grip on my hands tightened. "You love this sport. Your father plays this sport. You are only able to express yourself through volleyball! Some people dance as an art and you play volleyball."

"Maybe I don't want to express myself anymore!" I didn't mean to, but I shouted at him and stood up. Feeling embarrassed, I stormed out of the room and headed for the bathroom, bumping into Kageyama on the way.

 _Just great, more people to press on this matter._


	4. Chapter 4

**Kaori's POV-**

"Why don't you like to change in front of girls in the locker room?"

I was washing my face at the outdoor sinks. I pulled out my handkerchief and dried myself off, not even phased that he asked me a strange question.

"Why does that matter? Am I not living up to your male fantasies?"

He ignored my response. "Are you trying to hide something?"

"What would I be trying to hide?"

 _He's getting better at this…_

"Why do you think I'm asking?"

"Just leave it alone already, Kageyama-san."

* * *

 **Kageyama's POV-**

"Do your parents not feed you?" Saito muttered as her and her mother served dinner to everyone.

"Do you not have other friends?" Nao muttered.

"Shut up!" I shouted just as Saito shouted, "Hey!"

We turned to each other and laughed.

"Kao-chan, don't forget to-"

"I got it," Saito said flatly as she was walking me to the door. She turned to me and leaned against the wall with her arms crossed as I slipped on my shoes. "Why did you come over for dinner?"

"I can't come over for a meal? You come over unannounced to my room. Is it really that strange for me to be over?" He paused for a few seconds before adding, "Is it because I entered through the front door and not your window?"

Her face flushed as she punched my shoulder and pushed me out the door. "Don't get lost now!"

"I live next door. How can I get-"

"Kao-nee, are you two talking about me behind my back?" Naoko asked, peeking over his sister's shoulder with a blank expression on his face.

Did he really care if we were talking about him?

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

Later that night, I messaged Kageyama to open his window. I made up my mind to show him rather than explain why I don't want my classmates to see me so he would stop asking me so much about it.

I was in a tank top and a pair of shorts under a closed robe. I hopped into Kageyama's room to see him sitting on his bed with his arms crossed as if telling me to get on with things so he could go sleep.

I took a deep breath and started to undo the belt of my robe.

"H-Hey! Hold on just a second!" Kageyama shouted, covering his eyes with his arms, his face heating up. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Showing you what I'm hiding." I slipped the robe off my shoulders and it fell to the floor.

"Can't you just tell me?!"

"I'm wearing clothes still! You think I'm the type of girl to just go out in my underwear or nude willy-nilly?!"

Kageyama didn't answer but sneaked a peak to see if things were okay before he put his arms back down. He gasped and his arm went back up to cover his mouth. I frowned as I tied my hair up into a bun and turned around for him.

"You're covered in…"

"Scars."

There were bruises and scars all over my body from my legs, to what's under my tank top, to my shoulders and arms. The bruises were going away. They'll be gone within the next few days, but the scars, those will take much longer. Thank goodness for medicinal progress in ointments that heals scarred tissue.

Kageyama looked overwhelmed with anger as he thought everything in his head through.

"Those teammates of yours… Did this to you?"

"…."

 _For the most part…_

"You might as well answer me. You know you can't keep silent forever."

"Rain or shine, they would have me train outside. I would have to dive without kneepads on the concrete and get these nasty scrapes. They wanted to make me resistant to pain, so they'd…" He held up his hand to gesture to me that I didn't need to continue. He knew where I was heading with it. "They would beat me from time to time, mostly in groups. Even my classmates would join in. I've had things hurled at me and they've even stepped on my hands before, but only once. And…And…"

I didn't even realize I was crying until it was getting harder and harder to speak.

 _Dammit, pull yourself together Kaori!_

"I get the picture…everything that says you did something to Jennifer Smith was actually everything that was done to you." Kageyama stood and pulled me into his arms, allowing me to cry into his chest. "Maybe even more than what was stated online… How could anyone do things like that? This is almost as if they were hazing you." This would be a touching moment if Kageyama's embrace wasn't so stiff, but that's not what's important right now.

 _I can't talk like this. Why do I have to be so weak?!_

"C-Can we not…talk about this…anymore?"

"We can talk this out another day…but you don't want to play anymore, not because you don't love the game, but because you were abused in the game you loved so much by your teammates. You are supposed to trust your teammates and yet they took advantage of you. You're scared of putting your faith in a team, let alone someone." I whimpered at the truth in his words, but that wasn't the full story. "But you've put your faith in someone. Me."

I looked up at him through my tears, asking him wordlessly for clarification. He bent down to pick up my robe and drape it over my shoulders.

"If you can manage to put your faith in me to be there for you in times like this, then I believe you can do the same to a team."

"I can't possibly know if you'll end up betraying me in the end, Kageyama-san," I croaked out. "I'm already taking a big chance on you to tell you the truth. How can I reach out to others and let them in when I'm already afraid of believing in you too much?"

He picked up his volleyball and held it out to me. "By taking it one step at a time."

 _Take things slow? How short and simple._

I hesitantly took the ball from him.

"No one knows if a stranger they meet on the street is a murderer or a rapist. We all start from square one with someone new and we get to know them over time. If they turn out to not be the person they made themselves out to be, then we move on and continue the process all over again. That's just life." He put his hand on my head. "We have to keep making mistakes before we can progress. So why not make a mistake to start the chain reaction?"

"You're really wise, Kageyama-san," I mumbled, wiping my face with my bare-arms. "You should consider public speaking…a few pieces of advice…maybe you shouldn't make an example with murderers and rapists."

He ruffled my hair, applying pressure onto my skull as if to punish me for my joke. "It's time you start letting of the past and not let that define your future. You're not the you from Osaka. You're someone entirely different and right now, you need to find out who that new you is. Learn to overcome misfortune and betrayal until you find the people who will stick by you no matter what."

 _Like you…?_

"You're my best friend…Kageyama-san." I wrapped my arms around his waist, my robe somehow staying on my shoulders.

"…I must be if I'm the one who has to clean up your tears at the end of the day."

He didn't sound like he was joking, but I laughed anyways—sounding like a pig because of my disgusting crying self. His posture was to die for too. He didn't know what to do with his arms so he put them behind his head.

 **Flashback Start:**

"I thought we were friends!" I shouted, clutching my shoulder in pain from being pushed down the stairs by a classmate. At the top of the steps was Jennifer, looking down on me. I did nothing to wrong her, and yet there was so much hatred in her eyes for me. Or maybe I did everything wrong to her and just never noticed?

"Hah, when were we ever friends? You're so gullible. Did you actually think we were? Guess I'm a better actress than I thought." She flipped her hair over her shoulder descended the stairs to come over and kick me in the face. "We're rivals or better yet enemies. You hear me, you worthless waste of space? Who would ever want to truly be with you? Maybe your ex-boyfriend was upset about the break-up because he was the one who was planning to end things with you."

"No…," I croaked, spitting out the blood that was spilling into my mouth.

My classmates were surrounding the two of us, laughing at me and my misery.

"What was that?" She was mocking me.

"I still want to believe in those words you told me when you promised we'd always be friends…" I wasn't going to back down. There had to be some truth to her words. She must have been pressured to do and say all this stuff.

She sighed. "How many more plans must I make before you see how much I despise you?"

"What…?"

"You didn't think that everything that was done to you was on everyone's own accord, did you? Maybe some things, but I've planned every single thing that has happened to you since you've stepped through these gates. No one wants to risk having their own status at this school decline by being friends with you." I gritted my teeth, wondering how much of what Jennifer has ever said to me was ever true. "See you at practice, Riri-chan."

I have never grown to hate anything so badly before in my life until that moment when I despised the nickname Riri.

All the secrets I have shared with Jennifer were at her disposal. She had all the power over me, over everyone. Information and money is power after all.

 **Flashback End:**

I was wandering around the third year's classrooms, trying to find someone. It's not that I didn't want to ask a random person, but rather I was too embarrassed to ask considering the reason why I needed to meet with a certain someone.

"Saito-chan?" I turned to see Sugawara coming out of classroom 3-4.

"Ah, Sugawara-senpai. Good morning," I greeted, bowing.

He bowed in return to me. "Good morning. What are you doing here?"

"Ah…," I smiled, trying to think of an excuse. "I'm looking for my friend."

"What room are they?"

"No clue."

"…That's some friend. What's their name?"

"Aren't you busy? I don't want to be a bother," I quickly said, waving him off as I slowly backed away.

Sugawara stepped towards me smiling as equally bright as I was. "It's no bother at all."

"My conscious wouldn't allow me." I stepped back.

He stepped forward. "I insist."

I stepped back. "I insist you let me not keep you away."

He stepped forward. "I'm not being kept away from anything."

"No really. I don't need any heh-elp!" I stepped back again, except this time my foot didn't make contact with the floor.

"Whoa, careful!" Sugawara grabbed my arm as I was leaning backwards off the stairs. He pulled me easily toward him and into his chest because that's how momentum worked out. His free arm wrapped around my waist instinctively. "Are you okay, Saito-chan?"

My face heated up once I realized all the eyes on the two of us. "Y-Yeah. T-Thank you."

He looked around after seeing my reaction, a light hue making its way to his cheeks upon his own realization. He pulled me farther away from the stairs and let go of me. "Sorry."

I waved my hands out in front of me. "No! I-It's fine! It's my entire fault for not being more careful."

"Saito-chan, is that you?" Sugawara and I turned to see Michimiya emerging out of a classroom. "What are you doing here? Oh, you're here too Sugawara."

I scratched my head, weighing my options.

 _Might as well just get this over with._

I fished into my blazer's pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. I looked away as I handed the paper to Michimiya. She took it, puzzled, and unfolded it. Sugawara scooted over to her side to look at the contents of the paper.

"N-No way! Is this really happening?!" Michimiya Yui shouted in disbelief.

Sugawara looked over to me with glee. "So you're planning on joining after all!"

"What's going on?" Kiyoko asked, coming over to us now. She noticed the paper was a club form and turned to me. "Are you becoming a manager for the boys' team?"

"No!" Michimiya shouted, answering for me. "S-She is actually...actually…" She began to tear up.

"Meet Karasuno's newest member on the girls' team," Sugawara announced.

"Ah, so you finally settled on a club. Congrats Saito-san," she smiled at me gently.

Michimiya continued her rant, "I didn't think backing off for a few days would actually work!"

She probably thought I decided to join because she stopped asking me every single day. I wasn't going to tell her otherwise and ruin her pride.

"When is practice?" I asked, putting on a straight face to hide how anxious I was feeling about my decision.

"Oh um… TODAY!"

 _She doesn't sound too sure of it herself._

She laughed awkwardly and bolted off to who knows where.

 _I can't believe I'm actually doing this…_

"Kaori-chan!" I turned to see Hinata coming towards me as I descended to the first year's hall. "I want to apologize for upsetting you yesterday. I should have noticed how uncomfortable you were getting. I want to know what's wrong, but forcing you to tell me isn't the way. Sorry!" He bowed. I didn't know how to respond or process what he just told me quick enough, so I just blurted out the most recent event that happened in my life.

"I just joined Karasuno's volleyball team."

"REALLY?!" He shouted in excitement.

I can honestly say that Hinata was happier for me than anyone else in this world right now. I can't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

After school I changed in the locker room, mostly because I didn't know where the girls' club room was. I slipped my kneepads onto my ankles, and then a pair of sweat pants and a sweatshirt to cover up my imperfections. I tied my hair up into a tight bun and tied my old red and black running shoes up. I jogged over to the gym that the girl's typically practiced in. Upon walking in I didn't know what to expect, but it definitely wasn't a bunch of girls sitting around doing nothing but socializing.

"Uhmm…."

"Ah! Kaori-chan!" Michimiya shouted, waving me over. She stood up and brought me over to the group. "Everyone! This is Saito Kaori from Osaka's Hakuryo Academy. She's really well-known in the upper leagues and she is able to play two different positions."

 _Why is she talking about me like that? I don't want to be treated differently right off the bat… I just want a clean slate._

The girls looked slightly intrigued and slightly as if they wanted to leave already.

I was introduced to the entire girls' team, two of which I already knew from my middle school. We all did some stretches and ran two laps around the gym. I wasn't breathing as hard as the other eleven girls were. Could they be that out of shape?

While the girls were on a water break, before we went through spiking drills, I stretched my arms. The environment at Karasuno was different in comparison to Hakuryo's. Comparing the two teams is not hard.

I don't know what to say that won't come out as haughty or rude, but the girls' team sucked. They were sloppy with their form and didn't seem to care about practice at all. They looked like they were half-assing everything and it really irked me.

I was just observing to get a feel for things as Michimiya asked me to. The coach wasn't even present for the practice. Actually, I didn't even know if there was a coach.

"Saito-chan, do you want to join us now?" Michimiya asked me energetically.

I slipped up my kneepads through my sweats and stepped up to the court.

 _This is it._

* * *

 **Michimiya Yui's POV-**

 _I think Saito-chan is enjoying herself!_

I watched as Saito warmed up with the others. The girls watched her intently as Saito would spike the ball, talk to herself after landing, and get back in line over and over again while going through spiking motions with her arms. It was like she was trying to do a calculation in her head for a complicated math problem, only she was just focusing on her form and angles.

"Captain," Saito called out to me. "Are we doing anymore exercises during practice after warming up?"

 _She's so cute when she's eager._

"Ah, no. We just do stretches, run a bit and then at the end of practice we stretch more on our own time."

"Oh…." Saito looked dejected.

 _Eh, she looks upset! Was it something I said?_

During serves, the girls were more absorbed in watching Saito practice her jump serve. They were whispering how good she was and questioning why she was so keen on fixing herself when she was getting her shots in.

"With her on the team we might actually win a game," one of my teammates said.

"We won't need to even do much, just have her serve and toss to her. Bam! We got this in the bag," replied another.

"Hey, we all need to work together," I said to the two. They quickly agreed with me and walked off.

 _They were right about one thing though. We might actually win a game with her around._

I smiled to myself in excitement. Little did I see that there was something off with our little bundle of hope.

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

"Just tell me how practice was already," Kageyama shouted, annoyed with my silent treatment. I just lied in his bed in silence last night, went home, and now I am silent on our walk to school. "I can already see it wasn't that great if you don't want to talk about it."

I narrowed my eyes, puffed my cheeks slightly and looked away from Kageyama who was walking beside me.

"My expectations were…way off the bat."

"That bad?"

"…They…suck…."

"…."

"That was mean to say, but if you saw them you'd see that they don't even care about the sport. They're just doing it as if it's a chore. It really annoys me how they aren't taking it seriously. They're not even trying to get better." I crossed my arms. "I knew it wouldn't be like my old school, but their attitudes are the opposite of my old teammates… Heck, my middle school had a harder practice than the girls here have it."

"Except this new team won't bully you like your old one."

 _We'll see…_

Once we settled inside class, Michimiya came in as chirpy as usual. She was holding a present in her hands. She spotted me and came over, presenting me with the gift.

"Captain, what's this?" I asked, raising a brow while trying to mask my surprise.

"Open it!"

I did as I was told and found an article of clothing with the number 12 on it. I picked it up, trying to wrap my head around it. "Ah!" It was the girls' volleyball uniform. The spandex was under it in the box. "Captain…."

She smiled bashfully. "I had it washed yesterday. I didn't have it on-hand for you since you came out of nowhere and joined."

I felt a warm feeling in my chest. I don't know what came over me, but I got out of my seat and hugged my captain. "Thank you… I love it."

"I forgot the best part! Tadah!" She pulled out a navy blue jacket with a white strip that went down the arms and shoulders. On the back in white print was the words _Karasuno High School's Girls' Volleyball Club_.

I put on the jacket, liking the feel of it. Even though this was something normal to be given, Michimiya didn't have to clean them for me and she didn't have to go out of her way to get me them. I was touched by the easily pushed aside gesture.

I looked up at my captain and backed away when I saw the strange bliss she was in. She snapped out of it and pulled out her phone. "Let's exchange numbers. I usually send a mass message to everyone regarding practice or matches."

"Is there no practice today?" I asked, switching phones with her and typing in my number.

"No. There isn't any planned for today," she replied as we gave our respective phones back. She looked at the time. "Ah! I should be getting to class before I'm late! Bye, Saito-chan!"

I sighed hopelessly. "I should have figured."

"You can practice with us today," Kageyama offered as the bell rang and Hinata sprang into the room, barely making it to class on time.

"I suppose," I replied, stashing my uniform away in my desk.

 _I don't think I want to deal with a certain first year boy…_

During lunch, Hinata decided to start eating lunch with Kageyama and I more often. The two boys didn't seem to have a very friendly friendship, but their bickering was quite adorable.

"I didn't think you'd be friends with him out of everyone in class, Kaori-chan," Hinata said. "Then again he doesn't have friends. You probably felt that he was relatable."

"Oi!"

I decided to change the subject before the two went off in another fight where Hinata would end up hiding from Kageyama's gaze. "Hinata-kun, I got my uniform today. I'm number twelve!"

"Wow! That's so cool!"

"Oh, what number are you two?"

"Ten!"

"Nine…."

"Is it strange to want to wear my new uniform right now?" I felt embarrassed for saying that out loud. I prepared myself for the two boys to make fun of me, but that never happened. I looked at them to see them both averting their faces from me.

 _Don't tell me…._

"You guys tried on your uniforms the second you both could?" I asked, trying to stifle a laugh.

They were both flustered.

"Of course not!" Kageyama shouted.

"When I got home!" Hinata shouted.

 _I see one is in denial._

I couldn't hold in my laugh any longer.

"Kaori-chan, you settled on a club?" one of my female classmates asked, leaning over from her lunch group's spot in the classroom.

I nodded. "The volleyball club."

"Wow! I thought you would join a more leisure club, but athletics! Maybe I should give sports a try too."

I grinned. "Go for it."

Afterschool, I took Kageyama up on his offer and trained with the boys' team. Apparently there was a scrimmage match tomorrow for the girls' team. The Captain decided to tell everyone this afterschool via text. The organization and motivation of the team was really getting on my last nerves now.

Hinata tried to reassure me after I complained to him about my first practice. He even said that he'd go and watch, until the Coach Ukai told Hinata that they had a scrimmage match as well against the same school, so we may not even be able to watch one another's matches. Hinata vowed to work extra hard today so that tomorrow his team can win faster.

"What if I wanted to watch you guys play, Hinata-kun?"

"Oh, uh… Good question…"

Practicing with the boys was way better than with the girls. The only problem was: this wasn't my team. My team was off socializing or at home doing homework. I needed to say something regarding that because it wasn't right. They can't get better by taking more breaks than practices.

Tomorrow came faster than anticipated. I forgot the name of the school we were going against, but my team seemed oddly calm. My heart was racing. We were all in our uniforms and I do admit that I had Nao take pictures of me in mine last night. I invited him to watch, but he wanted to go practice for his upcoming match today. His was later in the afternoon so I had time to go see him play his first match.

The girls and boys were arriving separately, so I haven't gotten around to seeing any of the guys except for Kageyama today since we walked together to school.

Once we got to the school and the locker room, we all dropped off our things and headed out to the gym with only our waters and pads. We all stretched as a team, warmed up, went through introductions as well as rules, and went off to huddle together for our pep talk.

"Saito-chan, why do you wear such long kneepads?" one of my teammates asked me. She had short black hair and brown eyes. If I remember right she was a second year named Mizuno Rin. "I never noticed since you wore sweatpants during practice. But you're wearing sleeve paddings too. Did you wear those for games at your old school?"

I looked at my arms and pulled the sleeve of my pad higher up my arm to hide a small scar that was peeking out. "You can never be too safe. Plus, it's been awhile since I've played so I might get sore."

 _Not trying to avoid any questions or acts of sympathy…_

"Come on everyone!" the captain shouted, motioning for us all to get into our huddling positions. "Okay everyone, remember to play hard and have fun today!"

"HAI!" everyone shouted, cheering. Michimiya and I were put as wing spikers for the game. I didn't have much confidence in winning this match. We didn't practice formations and even if they knew how things worked I was in the dark about it. I only had my own strategies to go off of.

"Are you ready for your first match?" Michimiya asked me while the other team was still getting themselves together.

I nodded. "Let's get over with it."

Machi Kayo was a girl with shoulder length tan colored hair and violet eyes. She was a third year and the official setter for the girls' team. She patted my shoulder on her way to her position on the court. I was surprised and flinched away from her touch. "Ah, sorry Saito-chan. I was just going to say to not be afraid to call for any tosses. Good luck!"

"G-Good luck, Machi-senpai," I stuttered, holding myself as if I was cold.

Suda Aoi was the middle blocker alongside Suto Haruna in our rotation. Suda Aoi was a first year like me who was taller than me for our age. She had a slender body with long red hair tied up into a high ponytail. She had brown glasses, jet black eyes, and a well-formed sharp face. Suto Haruna was an inch shorter than Suda Aoi. She had a dark brown bob with light pink highlights pulled back with a head band and amber eyes. Oh, and she was a second year.

Tao Chiyo was another wing spiker. She was a tall second year with a stern look and a mole under her right eye. She had bleached blond hair that would reach her mid-back, but right now she had it pined up with her bangs falling down the left side of her face. Her hair made her emerald green eyes sparkle. She was a very mature looking senpai.

These girls were the members in this first set's rotation. The rotation goes counterclockwise from position one in the back right, position two being in the front right, position three being in the front middle, and so on. The position order went as is, Tao in position one, Machi in position two by the net, Suda in three, Suto in four, me in five, and Michimiya in six.

The other team served the ball, Michimiya returned it, Machi ran to the ball and set it up for Chiyo to spike down. Point for us. Throughout the match I never called for a toss. I got by just returning and passing to my teammates in this best of five match.

Set 1: 25-13

"Good job, good job everyone," Michimiya cheered, breathing hard as we all grouped up into a circle. "How are you feeling, Saito-chan?"

"Huh?" Everyone turned to me. Unlike our captain, I wasn't as tired because unlike me she was working her butt off the entire set. "I-I'm fine."

"Let's keep this up guys. One set down!" Michimiya shouted.

"Don't overwork yourself Yui. Switch out so you can take a break," a tall third year named Konodo Rena said. She was, like I said, tall just like most of the girls were compared to me. She had light grey eyes and long light brownish green hair typically tied up into a high ponytail from what I've seen around campus. I didn't have a clue what her position was, but that was the same for most of the girls on the team.

"I'm fine!"

 _I don't really know much about my own team…_

In all honesty, I've only practiced with them for a day and now I'm having a practice match with them. Yet they can care in how their teammates are feeling. Then again, Michimiya isn't singled out and bullied.

Set 2: 18-25

I didn't do anything different and Michimiya was put in and out of the game. I was kept in the game for some reason even though I only did the bear minimum. The girls tried hard, but they didn't hard enough.

"Sensei, put me back in!" Michimiya shouted at our adviser.

I just met our staff adviser when we were loading onto the buses earlier this morning. She was a homeroom teacher for class 2-3. She was a young teacher with long wavy peach hair tied loosely into a ponytail that she hung over her shoulder. Her eyes were black, sharp, and mature in a nurturing way. Her name was Hirano Risa.

"Are you fully rested yet because it doesn't look like that to me," said Ms. Hirano.

"Maybe I should sub out…," I started before I was cut off.

"No!" Michimiya shouted. Everyone looked at her in shock, minus our adviser. "I want Saito-chan to play with all of us! I want her to be happy that she joined."

"Michimiya-senpai…," I mumbled. Our timeout was over before I could form a sentence.

It was strange for someone to want me to be happy to play with them when that shouldn't be important. Ah, no I'm confusing a normal team with my old team.

Set 3: 3-10

Opposing team's serve.

"Don't give up," Michimiya huffed.

"We're losing," Suto whimpered. "We can't recover from this."

"S-Sorry everyone," Mizuno apologized, trying to catch her breath. She was apologizing for her poor tosses. Machi had to sub out and rest, so the back-up setter was put in. She hadn't had a break at all until third set began. Mizuno looked about ready to cry. Her confidence was struck along with everyone else's.

 _Maybe if they put in the practice they would feel more confident._

The whistle blew and the opposing team served. Konodo returned it to an emotional Mizuno. She set the ball, but it wasn't high enough. Konodo went for the ball anyways and she hit it out.

"Sorry Konodo-senpai!" Mizuno apologized. "I-I should have made the toss higher."

"Don't worry about it," Konodo replied. "We're…"

She didn't finish her sentence, but I could tell it was going somewhere along the lines of our chances.

Set 3: 9-25.

"Sensei, if we lose one more set we're done," Tao stated.

"That first set was a fluke. I knew it was too good to be true…," Fujimoto Aya confessed. Fujimoto Aya was the only girl willing to play as the libero. She had short light brown hair with matching eyes. She typically had the right side of her hair pinned back behind her ear. She was also a third year.

"I thought with Kaori-chan here we could surely win…," my senpai from middle school said. Her name was Nomura Erika. She was a third year now and played as a middle blocker. She had braided black hair that went a little past her shoulder blades and light blue eyes.

"Erika, you weren't with her as long as I was, but I've seen her play better than this and I would assume her skills only increased after she left," my other old teammate from middle school said. Her name was Hashira Mayumi. She was a second year now with short black hair and dark grey eyes. She was a wing spiker.

She didn't have to say what she was hinting at. I already knew. She was disappointed in me; my inability to try. Am I not trying purposefully?

"Don't look down on us," a second year snapped at me. Her name was Hamano Akane and she had long, auburn hair with jet black eyes. She was a middle blocker with bite. "I haven't seen you spike even once throughout this entire match."

"It's not my-"

"You could have easily called for the ball."

"Akane-chan, it's alright. Saito-chan is still getting adjusted to us," Michimiya reasoned.

I looked at everyone's faces. I saw looks of sadness to anger to disappointment. Could it be that I was the cause of all this?

These girls were counting on me, but was it really the appropriate amount of relying? One thing's for sure though.

 _I don't want a repeat of my old team…_

Fourth set was starting. The people starting this set were: Michimiya, Konodo, Machi, Hamano, Nomura, and me. This was the best defensive rotation for the team. For middle blockers we had the tallest and more experienced girls as a precaution. Suda was just a first year so she was considered less experienced. I was a first year too, but everyone was counting on me to carry them. I had not been doing so hence the disappointment my teammates had.

The girls were tired, but we had to keep going until the match was over. Even if I didn't do as much as them, I was getting tired. I've been on the court for four sets now with no real break. My muscles were aching because I haven't exercised since I left Hakuryo Academy. I don't think I'm in a position to make a list of reasons why I'm not playing up to par with my usual or even up to my teammate's expectations.

 _If Kageyama-san was watching he would be disappointed…_

He wanted me to give my teammates a chance to prove that they won't mistreat me and yet all I can think about is how I'm not ready to get back into the game, how sloppy the girls are with the sport, and how they only wanted me because of my abilities. I can't help but feel used.

But Kageyama also told me that it was okay to make mistakes. It's a bit clique but I guess the more mistakes you make, the more you will grow. I don't know what decision will be voided from mistakes so choosing to put my all into this game versus not trying anymore isn't an easy decision for me. If both can turn into a mistake, on that grounds will I determine the right choice?

The game went on with nothing different. It was strange how someone could care about losing and either lose hope or still have hope. Michimiya had a strange habit of slapping her face hard enough to make her cheeks as red as a tomato as if she was trying to stay focused, or rather stay hopeful.

Someone was keeping everyone motivated enough to play and that was our captain. This was the ability of the Ace. When all hope is lost, the Ace is the one that keeps everyone going till the end. I remember when I was like that too—when I was full of hope.

"One touch!" Nomura shouted, bringing me out of my thoughts.

 _Shit, I wasn't paying attention!_

The ball was coming at me and I quickly hit it up near the net shouting, "Michimiya-senpai!"

My eyes widened as Michimiya sprinted past me with a smile on her face as she leaped up to spike the ball I set up for her. The whistle blew as the ball hit the ground on the opponent's side.

I was still in shock from the point. My heart was racing as the girls complimented Michimiya, who jogged over to me with the ball in hand

"You're up, Saito-chan," she said to me as she handed me the ball with one hand and patted my head with the other. "Good luck."

She gave me a little push to the service box. So far in fourth set we were 3-12. I looked around to see my teammates both on the court and off the court eyeing me anxiously. I took one last look at Michimiya to see her give me a reassuring thumbs-up.

I stared at the ball, making a vow within myself to not give up on .

 _If this team wants to win, then they are going to need much more than just me._

I set up for an overhand serve.

 _Despite my past this is my new team. It's time I give them a chance...and give myself a break for everything that's happened._

But everything is always easier said than done.

* * *

 **Sorry for the blast of new characters! I needed enough for a volleyball team and since the anime doesn't focus more on the girls I had to just use my imagination.**

 **Character Information has its down page, so just go to the chapter drop-down menu and look for the bio chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Kaori's POV-**

Despite the gap in our scores, we managed to make a comeback.

Set 4: 25-17 and Set 5: 25-20.

I pulled a calf muscle and had to sit out while Ms. Hirano massaged my calf near the end of the fourth set and the beginning of the fifth set, but once I got back in we gained our lost leverage.

I never felt so proud of winning before when I was between hopeless and hopeful.

My teammates were all cheering and hugging one another. Michimiya jumped on me from behind, wrapping her arms around my shoulders and squishing her cheek into my head.

"Sorry Saito-chan! I should have noticed you were in pain."

"I'm just out of shape. Nothing a good night's rest and a daily exercise routine can't fix," I replied, embarrassed from the affectionate contact she was giving me.

"You weren't focused during the match. During the fourth set you didn't notice the ball was coming at you until the last second. Thank god our Captain was ready to save your ass. Did you just decided to try out of nowhere?" Hamano shouted at me. "Are we not good enough for you?"

I winced at Hamano's words and hung my head down low as Michimiya's arms released me.

"Akane-chan!" Mizuno shouted as she began tearing up. "T-There's no need to be so mean! She was pushing herself a lot."

"Near the end she was," Hamano scoffed. "We should have taken her off the court from the start."

"Hey that's enough. You're going to hurt Saito-san's feelings," Tao said with her calm composure.

"Where did she go?" Machi asked as I snuck away from the girls to go to the locker room.

 _I messed up…_

I gathered my things and shoved them into my bag, quickly leaving the room before the team came in. I found the nearest bathroom and instantly washed my face.

 _Why can't I do anything right…?_

I dried my face and slipped off my pads. I was too exhausted to change out of my uniform so I threw on my team jacket and a pair of black joggers. I slugged my bag over my opposite shoulder and left the bathroom taking the long walk to find the bus, or well trying to. I was lost, but I didn't register that I was.

I heard the voices of the boys' team in the back of my head.

Nothing felt right. I felt distant—on the outside of everything.

I just needed to find something to make this sinking feeling go away.

* * *

 **Kageyama's POV-**

As I made my way through the halls to go to the bus I noticed someone familiar.

"Hey you!" I shouted at the retreating figure of a girl. She was alone and her jacket was in the style of the girls' volleyball team.

She kept walking away as if she didn't hear me. Normally I would ignore this, but I was sure that was Saito Kaori.

I ran over and stepped around to face her. My prediction was confirmed as said girl bumped into me as if she didn't see me. I grabbed her by her shoulders.

"Are you blind?" I growled.

"…"

The look in her eyes was distant.

 _Was her first match that bad?_

"Oi." I raised my hand up to slap some sense into her, but before I could make contact I froze.

"Saito-chan!" I heard the girls' captain shouting. "Where are you?"

Afraid of someone misunderstanding the situation I hid around a nearby corner.

* * *

 **Michimiya's POV-**

All the girls were loaded on the bus except for Kaori. I decided to head back and look for her.

"Saito-chan!" I shouted multiple times as I ran around the halls and into the different gyms. I managed to find her standing alone in the middle of the hall.

"There you are!" I was relieved to have found her. "I got worried something happened to you." I put my hands on her shoulders. "Come on, let's head back toge-" I stopped mid-sentence upon noticing her expression. It was blank, emotionless, and oddly enough full of tears.

"What's wrong?"

She didn't reply to me so I put my hands on her cheeks and wiped a few tears away with my thumbs before tightly embracing her. One arm wrapped around her while my free hand stroked her hair. Kaori's body turned stiff underneath me.

"Shh, it's okay."

Maybe if we lost it would be easier to know why she was crying, but we won

 _Her feelings must be hurt because of Akane-chan…_

"She didn't mean what she said. Akane-chan was just stressed out."

"…I'm not mad at her…"

 _Ah! I got her to talk!_

I looked down at her to see that the blank look in her eyes had faded. Now her eyes were pained as if she was recalling a bad memory.

"Then what's-"

"What Hamano-san said was right…. It's just…she reminded me of some people I knew."

The tears in her eyes slowed to a stop and she just wiped the strays away, not acknowledging that she cried in the first place.

"I talked to her already. Even if you say it's alright…I don't want that kind of hostility in my team. Let's go back together," I said, holding my hand out to her. "You must be tired."

She hesitantly took my hand.

I wanted Kaori to smile and have fun with everyone, but it doesn't seem like that was the case today.

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

"Michimiya-senpai, do you think the bus could drop me off at Yukigaoka Middle School?" I asked, looking at said girl next to me after looking at the time on my phone.

"I don't think we're allowed to do that. Why?"

"Oh… My brother has a tennis game right now and I promised I would watch it. I didn't think we would be gone this long so it already started…."

"We are required to be taken straight back to school after a match… Sensei! Do you think it would be possible to make a drop off somewhere else this one time?"

I was surprised that Michimiya was actually trying to help me when it was against school code.

"You know we can't," Ms. Hirano told her.

"But Satio-chan is going to miss her brother's tennis match," Mizuno cried. She was sitting behind me on the bus.

"I know it's regulations, but…is anyone here against the stop? I'm curious to see what Saito-san's brother looks like," Konodo said.

No one raised their hands, but I could tell Hamano wasn't pleased.

"Sensei, please, just this once!" Michimiya begged.

Ms. Hirano sighed, walking over to the bus driver. I saw her hand some cash to the driver before coming back to her seat. "I expect those of you in my class to get exceptional marks on the next exam!"

"What grade is your brother?" Machi asked, turning around in her seat to look down at me.

"He's a third year now."

"I'm surprised he doesn't play volleyball like you,"

"Yukigaoka Middle School doesn't have a functional boys' team," Hashira Mayumi answered for me. "Erika and I were Kaori-chan's senpais when she was a first year."

"What was Saito-chan like when she was a first year in junior high?" Mizuno asked Mayumi.

"COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!" Mayumi exaggerated.

"Did you get contacts?" Nomura asked me.

 _Why is that the most asked question I ever get?_

"I got correctional surgery," I responded.

"Did it hurt?" Mizuno shook in fear at the thought of the surgery.

"N-Not really…," I responded.

A couple of the girls started to laugh.

"You're such a wimp Rin," Tao sighed. "We are going to be third years next year. You need to face your fears more."

"You're afraid of surgery, Mizuno-senpai?" I asked.

"She is afraid of ninety-nine things," Machi replied, resting her chin on the back of her seat, staring blankly at Mizuno.

"Yah! Stop it you two!" Mizuno yelped as she was ganged up on.

"That's a specific number," I commented.

"It used to be one hundred," Michimiya explained. "But then she joined volleyball last year. I was surprised when she actually joined. She seemed keen on her decision."

"Why is everyone talking about me?" Mizuno cried behind me, leaning her face against the back of my seat.

I couldn't help but crack a smile at the situation at hand.

"Rin here was terrified of playing sports. She didn't want to get all sweaty and the possibility of being covered in bruises made her stomach churn," Konodo explained. "Oi, Suda, make sure you're listening! I'll be sure to quiz you on it later."

"H-Hey! That doesn't even make sense!" Suda shouted, breaking her cool, mature, and silent atmosphere.

Everyone decided to watch my brother's game with me, but we were late. If we were lucky my brother was playing in the last group.

We gathered our things and made a run for it.

I crashed into the metal fence, slipping my fingers through the holes to stabilize myself. "NAOKO!" I shouted without really knowing if he was there. I looked at who was on the court in front of me as my teammates reached me. "Eh? S-Sorry!"

The boy in front of me was from Yukigaoka, but he wasn't my brother. He looked surprised and judging from his posture he was in mid-serve before I came along.

"…Nee-san?"

I turned to the court next to the poor boy I scared and saw my brother looking at me with wide eyes. He was down one court on the first set.

I awkwardly moved to the side where my brother's game was. I sat in the bleachers that faced his game and the girls followed me.

I cupped my hands around my mouth, not caring about how I seemed in front of the girls. "GO NAOKO! YOU CAN DO THIS!"

"GO GO NAOOOOKO!" some of the girls started cheering, making that cheer up on the spot.

I looked at my teammates in which I assumed to be shock.

"We're a team. We should support each other even if it's their brother playing," Machi said, giving me a thumbs up and a toothy grin. "Again! This time I better hear everyone! I'm looking at you three!" Machi pointed at Suda, Tao, and Hamano. Those three were basically the teammates that looked more like the quiet serious types.

Michimiya and Mayumi slugged their arms over my shoulders as the Karasuno girls' volleyball team cheered. "GO GO NAOOOOKO!"

I noticed a group of girls nearby looked at us distastefully, but they joined in on our cheer for my brother.

"Shut up! You're all annoying!" my brother eventually shouted.

I couldn't help the grin that was growing on my face as people continued to cheer.

 _Nao…you've grown up. This is the happiest I've seen you since…the funeral…_

I frowned at my own thoughts, but quickly focused on the match again.

After all the matches ended, we made our way over to my brother who was with a couple of his teammates.

I brought him into a tight hug. "Good job, Nao."

"Your brother was amazing!" Machi shouted as my brother and I separated. There was a light trace of blush on his cheeks.

"Do you remember me, Naoko-kun?" Mayumi asked, pointing at herself.

"Mayu-nee…," he grumbled. "I remember the money you owe me too."

"Oh…yeah…about that…," Mayumi responded nervously.

"Did you take the poor kid's lunch money?" Konodo asked.

"No! Nothing like that!" Mayumi shouted, trying to defend herself.

"I think we only met a few times at volleyball matches. You were still in elementary school when your sister and I were on the same team," Nomura said, putting a hand on my brother's head. "You definitely grew a lot since then and you're still growing."

Naoko was still less than five feet so I was the taller sibling.

As my teammates began to bombard my brother with introductions and questions, I fell out of the crowd.

"U-Umm…"

I turned to see a few of my brother's teammates. I clasped my hands together and bowed. "Thank you for taking good care of my brother."

"I-It's nothing!" one of them replied, turning away from me.

"You're pretty!" another shouted.

"Oh, thank you." I looked down at my loose clothing.

 _I'm not wearing the nicest of clothes, but it's nice to know I can work the look._

"Kaori-chan, we should celebrate both our win and your brother's!" Nomura suggested. "We could do it at your house."

I flinched as all the girls' eyes were on me. "M-My house? Isn't it a little last minute?"

"Oh, you're right…," Nomura replied, her lips turning into a pout as I signed in relief.

My team and the boys from my brother's team all decided to get some food at McDonalds; we took up the entire second floor seating.

The next morning I walked with Kageyama, as usual, to school. I found out by chance yesterday that the girls' team had morning practices. It was implied so there was no need to message the group about it.

"I waited at school for you. Did your bus get back early?" Kageyama asked.

"Don't tell anyone, but Hirano-sensei bribed our driver to drop us off at Yukigaoka Middle so I could see Nao's tennis match. It was surprising. I got there and he was down one, but then for the rest of the match he got all the points. He got a breadstick and a bagel!"

"Why are you talking about food…?"

"Ah, my brother taught me this. A breadstick is when one player has one point in a set while the other has the rest of the points. A bagel is when one of the players gets no points."

"… This is why I play volleyball."

"That's all you need to know," I chuckled.

"…How was your match?"

"We won…but I could have done better..."

"Nothing bad happened?"

"Nothing comes to mind. Why?"

"No reason."

"Geez, don't make me sound like a sad glob. I can be happy too."

"Now you know you can be a happy glob."

"…Be quiet." I lightly hit his shoulder. "I'm still learning…"

I changed into my usual workout clothes: a sweater, a pair of sweats, and my old shoes. My hair was up in a high ponytail.

I was excited to go to practice this morning, though my smile fell fast once I saw only Michimiya hitting against the wall.

"Michimiya-senpai?" I called out to her.

She turned around surprised to see me as I walked over to her. "Saito-chan?"

"Where is everyone?"

"Well…we have practice every morning like the boys, but not everyone comes…"

"Aren't they mandatory?"

"They should be, but…"

"But?"

"WAH!" she cried, pulling me into a hug. "I'm a bad captain! I should enforce practice more, but I don't!"

"EH?! I-It's alright! C-Calm down, M-Michimiya-senpai!"

"I'm sorry, Saito-chan. You expected more from us…but we've failed…"

 _So even she thinks I look down on them…_

"Are you always practicing here alone?"

She nodded. "Sometimes a few of the girls come and more people come after school when I announce that there's practice. It's hard to hold practice every day before and after school since no one is motivated enough to go. I guess that's why we never get far in Interhigh..."

"You remind me a bit of Hinata-kun."

"Who's that?"

"He's a first year on the boys' team! Anyways, in middle school he wanted to play volleyball so bad because he saw live stream of a volleyball match with someone called the Small Giant. The Small Giant was the Ace of Karasuno at the time. He inspired Hinata-kun to play, but the problem was that our middle school didn't have a boys' team. He took it upon himself to be the sole member of the Volleyball Club and he would ask his two friends to toss for him even though they were in other clubs. He often practiced by himself in the gym while the girls had practice or in the hallways when he couldn't go in the gym. He would help with clean-up as agreed upon with our coach… Eventually I started tossing for him. I wasn't the best since my specialty was attacking, but he would happily take anything he could get. He tried so hard every day…"

"Did anyone ever join in the end?"

"Ah, we lost contact since I moved the end of our second year."

"I see…Then do you like Hinata-san?"

"W-Where did that come from?"

"It's just…when you talked about him…you looked like…a girl in love."

My face heated up. "What does that look like?"

"I can't really describe it. It's just when I see that look it looks like the face of someone in love."

"I-I'm not in love with Hinata-kun," I responded rather quickly. I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. "I was probably thinking fondly of him because at the time we were dating."

"WHAT?! N-No way! How?!"

"T-That's not important right now." I put down my water bottle and grabbed a ball from the ball cart. "Let's warm up together."

Later in class one of my classmates came over to me, waving their hand across my face, but I didn't react. "Saito-chan?"

"Here, let me try," another one said. "Earth to Saito-chan."

"Eck!" My cheeks were pinched and pulled by one of my male classmates. I snapped back into reality to see a boy and a girl in front of me. I rubbed my cheeks, looking questioningly at them.

"You were off in your own little world," the guy answered as if to defend his actions.

"I was going to ask you if you wanted to have lunch with us and a couple of our friends," the girl asked.

"Ah, sure. Suoh-san, right?"

"Ah, just call me Momo!" the girl said.

"Alright, Momo-chan," I corrected.

Momo was a cute, but timid girl with dark gray hair that fell a little past her shoulders and magenta eyes. She typically wore a yellow headband.

Her companion was Kimura Shiki. A tall boy on the basketball team with spiked up black hair and honey eyes.

"If you have her for lunch, can I have her for break?" another female classmate asked.

It wasn't unusual for my classmates to want to spend time with me. I was typically around Kageyama so my classmates were too afraid to ask or they assumed I was already busy. Kageyama has a menacing atmosphere about him.

He hasn't come to class yet, so I suppose they were seizing the opportunity. I got to know some of my classmates pretty well, but I was sure we wouldn't stay friends. It was only a matter of time before someone like Tsukishima spreads all the rumors from my last school. I doubt that a lot of my classmates would be like Kageyama and stick around for the truth.

I pulled out a notebook and turned to a random page. I wrote down a table and filled the first column with the names of the girls from the volleyball team. Beside their names I wrote their positions. Next I wrote what I observed was their greatest weakness from what I've seen at the practice match as well as the first practice. Definitely motivation was an issue, but maybe that could be solved by finding a coach or giving the girls a reason to keep coming.

"But what…?"

"What are you mumbling about?" Kageyama asked, throwing his bag on his desk, grabbing my notebook from me. "Are these the names of your teammates?"

I held my hand up, motioning for my notebook back. "I'm trying to figure out a practice regime. I really want to do well, but it's not fun when not everyone is putting in the hard work."

He handed me back my notebook. "You haven't known them for long and you already know so much about their playing style."

"…Let's just say I did a lot of observing."

 _Ugh, that match will haunt me…_

"How do you plan on finding a coach?"

"I'm not sure yet… I'm thinking of talking to Hirano-sensei about finding one. I think working on the girls' abilities should be a priority though."

I didn't see, but Kageyama cracked a small and rare smile.

That night I stayed up late writing down my ideas and messaging Michimiya. I faxed her a few pages of my ideas for what to work on during practice and I talked to her on the phone about how we would go about accomplishing them.

"I'll go with you during break to talk to Hirano-sensei about finding a coach!" Michimiya offered.

"Ah, thank you. That would be helpful since it would be coming from the Captain and I don't really know her that well."

"It's no-" Michimiya began to yawn.

"Ah! It's this late already! Sorry Michimiya-senpai! I must have lost track of time."

"Don't worry about it. I'm a bit excited since your ideas are really good. I kind of wish I thought of some of these, but I don't think I would be able to execute them well."

"Don't say that. You're a great Captain. Everyone really trusts you."

"Stop it, you're making me blush! I'll send a mass message about morning and after school practices."

"Thanks again, goodnight senpai."

I hung up as I heard a knock at my door and turned to see my brother come in.

"Sorry, was I too loud Nao?" I asked as my brother walked in with his pajamas on and two mugs of what smelled like hot chocolate.

He shook his head, handing me a mug. He sat on my bed and drank his hot chocolate.

"Are you taking your medicine…?" he asked me.

"…Nao…you know I…take them…"

"Do you take them as prescribed?"

"…."

"Nee-san, you've been doing so well. Aren't you afraid of putting your health at risk?"

"You just said I'm doing well."

"I meant you've been good about putting yourself out there again and…look at you! You started playing volleyball again! You told me you wouldn't play anymore after… Please…I'm worried about you… Okaa-san too."

"Okaa-san has a funny way of showing her worry."

"You don't have those…thoughts anymore, right?"

"Nao…" I put down my mug and took a seat beside him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. He lowered his mug into his lap as he leaned his head onto my shoulder.

 _His hair is growing longer…he likes it messy like this._

"Do you like Yukigaoka?" I asked.

"…It's alright…"

"Did you miss it? You had to leave before your second year and you started your third year late. You must have been behind…"

"I wasn't that behind…"

"You stopped school for a while to take care of this bad Onee-san. What about your friends? Did you reconnect with James and Kaito?"

"They have new friends now, but we still talk from time to time…"

"So you don't have anyone close…"

"I have some buddies from the tennis club."

"Sometimes I worry that you'll become antisocial and resent the world… When I saw you at your match, I was so happy. You looked so cool out there… I'm proud of you."

"…I thought…something happened to you."

"Huh?"

"You would have texted me if you were coming late, but you didn't. I thought something bad happened…and…"

"I made you worry about nothing. I'm sorry…" I looked at the clock. "You should be going to bed."

"Can I sleep here tonight?"

"Alright, but I'll put these away." I got up and took his mug.

I practically jogged to school with Kageyama because I was eager to see who would come to morning practice. Kageyama helped Michimiya and I set up the net before he left for his own practice.

"We should start with a cardio workout," I suggested. "We need to start building endurance."

"Then we should have leg workouts," she added.

"Since we're starting out we should have those kinds of workouts separated as in not the same day."

"Hello?" a voice called out wearily.

Michimiya and I turned to see Mizuno, Suda, and Konodo walking inside the gym.

"You guys came!" I shouted.

"Well when Yui messaged it felt kind of urgent," Konodo said bashfully. "She never really says to go or that she hopes to see us there."

"I-I wanted to get to know S-Saito-chan more since she said she was going in the chat," Mizuno admitted.

"Hamano-senpai told me morning practices were useless," Suda stated.

"O-Oh… Is that how people felt…?" Michimiya asked, sulking in a random corner of the gym.

"I-It's not like that Y-Yui-chan!" Mizuno shouted, trying to comfort our captain.

"Am I late?" Nomura asked, taking in the situation. "Yui-chan, stop sulking."

"Good morning, Nomura-senpai!" I greeted her just before I bowed.

"Should we start now?" Konodo asked.

"Right!" I said, pulling out the clipboard Michimiya and I were writing on. "Pull on your jackets and bring your waters. We are going to: take two laps on the track, have a five-minute water break, then do one more lap, anther water break, and finally we will finish with five one hundred-meter sprints."

The girls, excluding Michimiya, were shocked.

"That's all?" Konodo said jokingly.

"No. We'll head back into the gym and do a hundred swats. Ah! We will stretch on the track before we run," I explained.

"You just had to ask…," Nomura muttered to Konodo.

By the end of the workout regime Michimiya and I worked on, the girls were lying on the floor breathing heavily.

"W-We need to get our bod-ies b-better conditioned," I huffed. Michimiya and I were the only ones standing. I threw my arms up behind my head, trying to catch my breath. "It's better to stand and keep your arms above you. Come on, get up." I helped Mizuno up. "Everyone find a partner and warm up with some returns."

Konodo paired up with Michimiya, Suda with Nomura, and Mizuno with me.

"Sorry!" Mizuno apologized for the billionth time. She didn't have good control over the ball, which was pretty much crucial for a setter.

"Michimiya-senpai, go play two on two with the others while I work with Mizuno-senpai," I ordered. Michimiya nodded as I took Mizuno to the side. "We need to work on your ball control." I threw a ball up in the air and tossed it lightly before catching it in my hands again. "Try it."

Mizuno nodded and did as I did. Her body squirmed all over to get under the ball and even when she got under it her toss went crooked so she had to lunge to catch the ball. I put my fingers under my chin, thinking over the situation. "Try it again."

This time Mizuno shut her eyes the moment her fingers touched the ball.

"I see…," I mumbled. "Mizuno-senpai, try copying what I do."

* * *

 **Michimiya's POV-**

We took a water break while Kaori and Rin practiced. Kaori was fixing Rin's stance for setting as well as returning. I've noticed Rin never had good stability because of her footwork, but I never tried to fix it.

"Admiring your underclassmen?" Konodo asked me.

"Something like that…," I mumbled. "I knew there was something off with Rin-chan's play, but I never knew how to work on it. I could have pointed it out, but I didn't…"

"Don't beat yourself up about it. Kayo noticed too, but every time she tried to help her she couldn't really explain it. Saito-san is a good kid. She doesn't really look like the type to play a sport, but here she is helping us."

"I'm the Captain. I should be encouraging everyone to get better…"

"Saito-san was a wing spiker and a setter, right? I don't know who better to teach than her. Yui you've been a wing spiker since middle school so why not help lead our new members? They're our future after all. Once we leave, our legacy is up to them…"

"You're right! Suda-chan!" I shouted out of nowhere, causing the tall red head to choke on her water. "Let's work on serve returns and then later spiking!"

"W-Why only me?" Suda asked, trying to get the funny feeling out of her throat.

"You're right… Rena and Eri-chan too!"

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

"It'll take time to get used to this since you're accustomed to moving another way, but keep working on it and it'll become muscle memory before you know it. We can work on it more after school. For now, just keep thinking 'straight up' and get out of the way for whoever is going to take the ball. Once you are comfortable we can work on your control of the ball so you can set off to the sides and out in front of you," I said.

"Sorry and thank you!" Mizuno bowed repeatedly.

 _Why does she keep apologizing?_

"Saito-chan! Join us so we can have the middle blockers work on blocking attacks!" Michimiya shouted.

I raised my hand to motion that I'll be there. "Grab some water and let's work on what I talked about."

* * *

 **Kageyama's POV-**

"So that's what I did with Mizuno-senpai. Do you have any ideas on how to make setting easier for her?" Saito asked me after telling me how morning practice went.

"Well…," I started.

"U-Um, Saito-chan," a small voice said.

Saito and I turned to the source of the little voice to see one of the girls in our class. I didn't remember her name, but I saw Kaori leave the room with her for lunch before.

"Good morning Momo-chan," Kaori greeted.

"G-Good morning," she bowed.

"Do you need something?" I asked casually.

The girl named Momo jump back, her face scrunching up in fear.

 _Was it something I said?_

Kaori lightly chuckled. "Kageyama-san may look scary, but he means well."

"Scary?" I questioned, but I was ignored.

"Was there something you wanted Momo-chan?" Kaori asked nicely.

 _She's putting up her mask again._

"Ah," she said shuffling closer to Kaori and away from me. "L-Lunch?"

"Sure, I can eat lunch with you and your friends again," Kaori responded.

"Really?!" Momo asked.

Kaori nodded and gave a higher pitched laugh then she usually did. "Oh." Her face fell as she looked at me.

 _She's considering asking that girl to invite me… How troublesome._

"I need to work on some new strategies since Interhigh is coming up," I replied. I was lying to make her not feel guilty. I guess it wasn't really a lie because I would end up doing that at one point during the lunch period.

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

"Ah…I'm nervous," I said aloud to myself as Michimiya and I were outside class 2-3.

"Don't worry. Hirano-sensei is really nice," Michimiya reassured me.

We walked in and saw Hamano and Mayumi.

"Hashira-senpai and Hamano-senpai are in this class?" I asked.

"You bet! What brings you two here? You do realize this is a second-year room, right?" Mayumi asked pulling me into a hug. "Oi, Akane stop sitting there and come over!" Hamano didn't move so Mayumi stomped over to her.

"Hirano-sensei!" Michimiya called out, going to the teacher as I followed. We summarized and provided her a copy of our intentions. She read it over and took a minute to collect her thoughts before speaking.

"I'll work on looking for a coach. You girls seem like you can handle the practices. You should think about finding a manager to lessen the load. These workout regimes look brutal if I think about myself doing them."

"We need to get into shape," I explained. "I don't think the team should rely on just one or two people. Everyone should be working together to get better and win. If you're not tired and if you don't ache the next day then you must not have worked hard enough. They don't give out points just because you want them. You have to work for them."

"Saito-chan…," Michimiya said, surprised at my words.

I turned away and started to fiddle with my fingers. "S-Something like that would be a nice mindset anyways."

Ms. Hirano smiled, pushing the papers we gave her into a folder. "I have a good idea where to start looking for a coach. Saito-san, don't be afraid to speak your mind." She squeezed my shoulder as she left the room.

"We did it, Saito-chan," Michimiya said. "Now the real battle will start."

After saying goodbye to Hamano and Mayumi we left. Michimiya ran off to meet up with a classmate regarding homework.

I felt my heart racing and smiled, laughing to myself as I walked down the hall. I was excited just thinking about the possibilities that the future could hold.

A boy walked by me, but so did other people before him.

This one was special, only I didn't register he was at first.

"Hey!" I was brought out of my daydream and turned slightly to see Nishinoya, the libero of the boys' volleyball team, partly turned to me. "Saito-chan, right?"

I turned fully, bowing politely. "Hello Nishinoya-senpai."

He blushed and scratched the back of his head. "Did you need help with something?"

"Not at the moment. Why?"

He pointed in the direction of class 2-3. "I saw you coming out of my class. I was just wondering if you needed help."

"I was just asking Hirano-sensei about some logistics along with Michimiya-senpai."

"Oh right, you're on the team now. That's why I don't see you around the gym anymore. Damn, I thought for sure you would become our manager so we could have two cute managers to bring to games."

"C-Cute?"

A pink hue blessed his cheeks as he realized his words. "I-I mean you're a g-girl so it's no wonder why you're pretty."

I tucked my hair behind my ear unconsciously as my face heated up. "Thank you…"

There was an awkward silence between us.

Some guys nearby were messing around in the hall. One of the guys shoved their friend jokingly, only they were coming toward my direction. Before I knew what was happening, I was crashed into. If this were a domino effect I would have pushed Nishinoya over, but he caught me with his surprising strength. He was the shortest on the team, so I guess I underestimated him.

Then again this was also the moment I realized a sad fact.

"You're…," Nishinoya started, staring down into my eyes with his arms still around me, his breath tickling my nose. "…shorter than me?"

My eyes widened as I pushed away from him, realizing he was right. "Y-You're right."

"How tall are you?"

"F-Five foot." I thought about all the girls on the team. "I-I'm the shortest girl on the team." I frowned, hanging my head down in a sulking motion.

"It's alright! S-Short girls are really c-cute!"

"You said all girls were!"

"Oh yeah, umm…," Nishinoya was panicking, trying to figure out what to say. "You're small but pack a punch!"

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking slightly up at him innocently.

His eyes widened a little as he turned away from me, clearing his throat. "People will underestimate you, but you're really skilled."

"Kind of like how Hinata-kun is a decoy?"

"Precisely! I'm not saying you're just a decoy though!"

"Thank you, Nishinoya-senpai. You gave me a great idea." I waved before I ran off.

Throughout class I scribbled down all my ideas before I would forget them and before I knew it lunch had started.

"Saito-chan, ready?" Momo asked me, holding up her bento.

"Oh yes, sorry for the wait." I closed my notebook and grabbed my bento from my desk. I followed her and Shiki to class 1-1 where their friends were. I just ate silently, laughing when others were, and answered any questions people asked me.

"Saito-san, you're in volleyball, right? How is that working out?" Shiki asked me.

"It's getting there. I'm pretty excited about it," I said softly, keeping myself in check so I wouldn't burst out in excitement.

"I heard that our girls' team wasn't that good. They don't practice enough and they really just go to make it look like they're doing something," Shiki said.

I frowned. "Things are changing."

 _That image…I want to destroy it._

"Shitki, you're being rude," one of the girls in the lunch group snapped.

"Did you really just call me Shitki again?!" Shiki shouted back at the girl.

"Don't mind him. It's just an image a lot of people get with the girls' team. Shiki-kun was probably going to ask you to be the boys' basketball team's manager," another girl in the group said.

"Shameless advertising…," Momo mumbled softly enough for us to hear.

The group laughed except for Momo, Shiki, and I.

Shiki gave up and laid his head on the table.

"It's okay Shitki, I'm sure someone will learn to love you," one of the guys in the group joked, patting his friend's back.

"Oi, Shitki," someone called out, walking into the room.

"Who now!?" Shiki shouted, sitting up, turning around just as the spine of a book collided into his face. The owner of the book just continued shoving the book into his face.

A vein appeared on this boy's temple. "Stop using my extra socks. I have to keep getting new ones because your sweat stinks putridly."

I was sitting beside Shiki with Momo on the other side of me. I turned to look up at the newcomer.

I held in my breath as my eyes met the boy's. He had short, wavy blond hair with amber eyes that made me melt under their gaze. Our staring contest continued on with neither one of us wanting to look away.

He retracted his book from Shiki's face as the group looked between us.

"Saito-chan this is-" one of the girls started, but Shiki cut her off.

"What the hell man!" Shiki shouted, tackling the strange boy to the ground, thus breaking the strange spell I felt I was under.

I awkwardly got out of my seat and grabbed my bento. "I'm going to head back to my class. Bye." I bowed, some of the girls whining about it and blaming it on the two idiots on the floor. I stepped around the mini brawl on the floor and made my way to the door. I opened it just as someone on the other side was about to open the door.

My eyes widened in surprise while the girl in front of me looked unfazed. They key thing I noticed was her height.

"Ah! Tanji-chan is back from the infirmary!" one of the girls announced.

"Did she get nauseous again?" Momo asked.

I stepped out of the way to let the girl through. She had dark pink hair and big hazel eyes. Her hairstyle was an A-cut bob with her bangs covering her entire forehead, stopping just above her eyes.

 _She's shorter than me!_

I shook my head, hoping no one noticed my out-of-character slip, and left the room.

After school Michimiya and I explained how morning and afternoon practices would run from now on to our teammates.

"Question, do we have to do all that running again too?" Konodo asked, raising her hand.

"Ah no. I expect those of you who came this morning to run two laps on the track and three sprints on the one hundred-meter length. Set up the net once you finish," I explained. "If people start coming regularly to practices then you will only have one hard work out a day until we start building muscle."

"These practices are mandatory. It's only fair to work to play so if you don't show up without a good reason, then you are going to be taken out of the next scheduled game. It doesn't matter your year or how good you are. It's not fair for the people who do come," Michimiya added. "Even if you think these practices are useless…"

I turned to look at Michimiya who trailed off. She looked a bit fazed so I finished her thought. "Even if you think these practices are useless, not going will only hurt you and in the long-term, your team. You can only get better with practice."

"What if we all go, but we don't get put in because we're not good enough?" Hamano asked lazily. "All that work would have been for nothing."

I frowned. "That's a shame if people feel like that. We are a team so we shouldn't rely too heavily on a select few people. What happens if one of the regulars gets injured or something during a match? One of you will need to cover them. Since we're a team we play together, win together, lose together, and train together. A team should be like…like…." I couldn't find the right word to finish with.

"Family. We're a family," Michimiya finished for me, putting a hand on my shoulder and squeezing it as if to thank me. "Let's show everyone that we're not a dying club! Who's with me?"

Michimiya and I did the harder workout with those who didn't come this morning while the morning group did their shorter workout. After a long water break, everyone broke into pairs to rally one on one.

I partnered with Suda since we were the only first years on the team. I didn't have trouble keeping up with her despite my decreased leg reach in comparison to her. After ten minutes of that we had a water break. I dried my sweat with my towel and grabbed my clipboard.

"Can you guys break into four groups once you get some water? Wing spikers there, setters there, the libero next to the setters, and middle blockers next to the libero," I asked.

Once everyone got into their correct groups I continued my instructions. "Machi-senpai and Mizuno-senpai, you two can practice setting to one another. Mizuno-senpai, practice what we worked on this morning and make sure Machi-senpai is on the same page so she won't be surprised."

The two grabbed a ball and left to go to one side of the gym.

"I almost forgot to mention. If you're unhappy with your current position, please talk to me so I can help you with the transition," I said before continuing with the regime. "The rest of you here will do a drill. Follow me to the net." We all walked to the net. "I'm going to set to one side so I want everyone but two people to go there." I pointed to the opposite side of the court. Konodo and Suda stayed behind on this side of the court. Michimiya had the other group fall in line. "You two are going to block the spikes." I turned to see who was first in line. "I'm going to set for Michimiya-senpai and she will spike it over. You two jump to block it then Michimiya-senpai will run under the net and take the place of the person on the right who is Suda-san right now. This way everyone will get a chance to spike and block. Even if it's not someone's position to be a blocker the jumping will be a good exercise for your calves."

"W-What do I do?" Fujimoto asked.

"Fujimoto-senpai, you're the libero so you're going to be saving the balls that manage to go through your side's defenses," I explained.

After three rotations of this I had Machi take over my job. I split up the groups so the drill would go by faster. Machi took her group to one side of the court while I took half the original group to the other side of the court. Let me explain this better. We're all on the same side of the court, but one group is by the right line while the other is by the left line. I had Mizuno set for the new group.

"Every new rotation the setters will switch lines," I announced, standing off to the side to observe. I gave advice to the girls whenever I could. Sometimes I pulled them to the side to explain something better.

"Saito-chan, switch with me. You need to get your practice in too," Michimiya said. "I'll watch the girls."

Near the end of practice, we worked on basic over hand serves. I laid out six cones to represent people so the girls would know where they were aiming.

"Three laps around the inside of the gym then we can call it a day."

All the girls began running to get it over with. I was about to start running myself until Mizuno caught my attention.

"Saito-chan…I don't think setting is my thing… Maybe I should just be a wing spiker…," Mizuno hopelessly said. "No matter what I'm never going to be as good as Machi-senpai. Being as good as you is already just unthinkable."

"Mizuno-senpai…," I shook my head and grabbed her shoulders. "Don't think like that! Anyone can do whatever they put their mind to."

"You said you'd help with the transition if we wanted to change to another position…," Mizuno mumbled.

I bit my lip, not liking how my words were being used against me. It's one thing if she never wanted to be a setter in the first place or if she really wanted to try out another position, but she is just giving up because she isn't seeing the improvement.

"Give it a day. If you still feel like this by the end of morning practice tomorrow, then we can have you change over."

"Thank you, Saito-chan."

As everyone was leaving to go home I pulled Mizuno aside and invited her to have dinner with my family. She agreed out of curiosity.

We walked nearly in silence together to pick up my brother from his school.

"Why did you become a setter at first?" I asked Mizuno.

She sighed. "I wasn't planning on joining as you've heard. The girls' team was desperate for more members though so they kept trying to convince me."

I chuckled. "I remember Michimiya-senpai asking me every day to join."

"Did she wear you down?"

"Not exactly… My friend Kageyama-san from the boys' team talked me into giving it a try."

"I see… Well I just happened to watch one of their home games… Rena-chan said I was afraid of sports, right?" I nodded. "I cared about my appearance a lot in middle school. I was one of the most sought after girls. I made sure I washed my face and lightly applied makeup. Being all sweaty and the bruises that would come from just learning was a turn-off for me. I didn't want to do anything that would mean me looking unattractive. I didn't want my complexion to be ruined. I had long nails all painted and bedazzled." She laughed. "My hair used to be as long as yours too."

"What changed?"

"That game I watched… I was just passing by. I was on clean-up duty with some guy in my class. I convinced him to throw the garbage away for me and in turn I would just keep him company. We walked by the gym and I only meant to see what was going on. Bang. The ball hit the ground hard. I couldn't keep my eyes off the game. I didn't understand the rules or how the points worked, but I assumed that every time the ball hit the ground on the opposing school's side of the court, that was good for my school. Before I knew it I was cheering alongside a few other people. They were just friends of the players from both schools. The setter at the time wasn't Machi-senpai, but the captain."

"Michimiya-senpai?"

"No, heh. Remember this was a year ago when I was a first year. That means Yui-chan and Machi-senpai were only second years. The captain last year was a third year who was the team's official setter. She was drenching in sweat, but she refused to leave the court. She was amazing. It was as if she was dancing around the court and her sweat just made her sparkle."

"So you joined…"

"I joined to be like her. She was beautiful even though her bangs were sticking to her forehead and she was covered in sweat. She kept her hair short so that it wouldn't get in the way." Mizuno tugged at the ends of her hair.

 _That almost sounds like Hinata-kun and the Small Giant._

"You can't exactly be like her. Every player has their own style of playing."

"I know that now…"

"Hey! Don't give up alright!"

"Huh?" She looked taken aback by my enthusiasm.

"The setter is one of the most important positions! Without them teams would have a hard time scoring!"

"Even more so why it shouldn't be me playing such an important position!" She looked down at the ground. "Machi-senpai was the favorite of our former captain. She trained with her whenever she could because the legacy of Karasuno's official setter was to go to Machi-senpai once the captain retired."

"That doesn't mean you should give up. So what if your role model didn't dot on you as much as Machi-senpai. You can learn and practice as much as you can. The setter needs to be able to think strategically on the spur of the moment."

"I can't think like that…"

"You don't know until you really try." I took Mizuno's hands in mine, stopping our walk. "I'll teach you if no one else will."

"Saito-chan…what position would you choose if you had to do one?"

"…a wing spiker."

"Why not a setter? Why play as a wing spiker if you have a knack for setting?"

I let go of her hands, frowning. "My father… When he was growing up, he was a wing spiker. Everyone loved him so he was automatically voted in to become Captain and Ace of both his middle school and high school teams."

"He's your inspiration?"

I nodded, looking up to the dark sky. "He taught me how to fly…"

* * *

 **Ms. Hirano's POV-**

I knocked on the door of the infirmary before walking in.

"Hirano-san, what can I do for you today?" asked the school nurse from his desk.

I walked over to him and sat on the side of his desk. "Have you thought it over yet?"

"Are you talking about yesterday?" he asked, sipping his coffee. The glasses he wore fogged up from the heat of the coffee.

"What else?" I grumbled.

"I thought I made myself clear on my position yesterday," he replied as the door opened. A little girl with dark pink hair walked in silently. She looked indifferent to everything as she automatically went to a bed and lied down.

 _She doesn't look sick at all._

"If you don't accept I'll have twelve girls bothering you all day."

"I'll actually look busy if you do that."

I puffed my cheeks as he pulled out a pad full of hall passes from a drawer. "Tanji-san, is it an upset stomach this time or a migraine?"

"I feel lightheaded today," she replied, pulling out a comic book.

 _Should she be reading if she is lightheaded?_

"What's her problem?" I asked, not buying her illness.

"Isn't it obvious? She is ditching class by feigning an illness."

I shook my head. "Kids these days." I got up to head to my class. "Igarashi-san, please reconsider coaching those girls." I left a manila folder on his desk before I left his office.

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

Mizuno messaged me to come to morning practice earlier than usual to help her so I decided to drag Kageyama along with me. He was grumpy, but he would get over it.

Michimiya gave me a copy of the gym keys so once I got to school I opened up the gym and the club room. Sugawara was at school early for the boys' practice, but rather than press on that fact I invited him to help us. With their help we were able to get the net set up.

I sighed. "This is why we need a manager, huh?"

"Do you have an idea of who you want to get?" Sugawara asked as Kageyama pushed out the ball cart.

"No clue… I feel like the manager should be a boy though. That makes sense since if it was a girl, they might as well just play as a member on the team."

"I think they're supposed to be the opposite gender. From my experience anyways," Sugawara pointed out.

Mizuno came and I introduced her to Sugawara and Kageyama. She was shy about it and also confused why they were here.

"Sugawara-senpai and Kageyama-san are both setters," I explained before we got started on Mizuno's early morning training.

Once Sugawara and Kageyama left for their practice Mizuno nudged me, "Saito-chan…"

"Yes?"

"I think…I want to stay as a setter. I may not be that good now…but… I want to get better!"

"Mizuno-senpai…"

"I've always tried my hardest to look good… It's time I start working my hardest to be good enough to carry on Machi-senpai's legacy. So…thank you for all your help! I will be in your hands this year, Kaori-chan! One day I'll be able to stand when you all are."

My face heated up upon hearing the familiarity in Mizuno's speech and imagining Machi, Kageyama, Sugawara, the previous Captain, and I all on a pedestal.

Before I could speak, Mizuno grabbed my hands. "Please work with me before practice like this again!"

I smiled, nodding my head. "I wouldn't miss it for the world, Mizuno-chan."

"Everyone calls me Rin. You should too. We're friends now."

 _Friends…?_

"R-Rin-chan," I tried. She grinned and linked her arm with mine.

"I don't regret joining… Before this, I had no one I could really call my friend. I think I was able to get a bit of a grip on who I've tried so hard to hide all this time since I decided to play volleyball. Being out on the court…in this gym…around these girls… I feel like I can be myself."

I smiled, but it slowly turned into a frown. My heart ached, but before Rin could notice my expression our teammates arrived for practice.

"Kaori-chan, are you okay?" Aria asked, tapping my shoulder.

I turned to her. "I'm fine, why?"

"You looked caught up in your thoughts again," she mumbled, going back to her lunch.

"What were you thinking about, Kaori-chan?" Hinata asked me.

I crossed my arms and leaned back in my seat. "Fujimoto-senpai asked me if she could be a wing spiker this morning."

"What's wrong with that?" Hinata asked me. "The feel of the fabric against your hand when you smack it down is cool!" Hinata pretended to spike with his arms.

"You dumbass! Why do you close your eyes when you're just demonstrating it?!" Kageyama snapped.

"Ah! Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Hinata apologized.

Aria ignored their bickering. "Isn't Fujimoto-senpai the libero?"

I nodded. "She came up to me during the break and told me how she was originally a wing spiker, but their libero last year graduated. No one wanted to step up to be the libero…but she ended up volunteering so that Michimiya-senpai wouldn't have so much trouble. She was hoping one of the incoming first years would be a libero, but only two first years applied…and one of them is me."

"Who's the other one?"

"Suda Aoi. She is a middle blocker," I replied. "Ah! Aria-chan, Suda-san is as tall as you and we're all the same age! She looks like a third year though! I'm not kidding! She is definitely a woman."

"Really? This I got to see."

"She can be pretty intimidating though. Sometimes I see her in the halls and when I greet her she glares at me so coldly. I get chills just thinking about it."

"Be careful of people like that. They could be trouble."

I shook my head. "She has her cute moments though. Sometimes Konodo-senpai calls her out just to get a reaction out of her that isn't so emotionless. She can get embarrassed too, hehe."

Aria leaned against the desk. "Kaori-chan, you look like you're having a lot of fun now."

"Once I got everyone to come to morning and afternoon practices, the team really started getting better. Even my teammates are starting to notice the improvement."

"Did you ever find a coach yet?" Kageyama asked, getting back into the conversation.

I shook my head. "Hirano-sensei said not to worry about it. I'm having trouble finding a manager though…"

"I'll be the manager!" Hinata volunteered.

"You idiot, you're already in a club," Kageyama said, slamming his hand against his forehead.

"Sorry, Kaori-chan… I can't help you out…"

"It's alright. I'm sure I'll find someone willing to help out." I patted Hinata's back.

"How come you're working so hard to get this team into shape?" Aria asked, grabbing my clipboard. She flipped through the papers thoughtfully. "Shouldn't the captain and co-captain be doing this stuff?"

"We don't have a co-captain. Actually, I should say we had one, but she left before I transferred here. She moved away and no one bothered to fill in her spot."

"You're really thorough. If you weren't trying to help everyone, I would think you were a creep or something," Aria said, showing me some of my notes where I wrote down the girls' weaknesses and heights. "Why do their heights matter?"

"Sometimes it just does!" I took back the clipboard.

* * *

 **Kageyama's POV-**

"Suda-san!" Saito shouted when she saw said girl walk by the open hall windows. I noticed a longing look in Miura's eyes when Saito ran after her.

 _She can't be…jealous that…_

I slapped my cheeks, punishing myself for my dirty thoughts as Hinata decided to run after Saito.

Miura stared at me; her judgmental look asking what was wrong with me.

"I was falling asleep," I replied. "How is track and field?"

Miura plastered on a fake smile. "It's great! I mean running sucks, don't get me wrong, but everyone is really nice." I crossed my arms, showing I wasn't fooled easily. She seemed to catch on and gave up hiding whatever it was she was hiding. "I miss…playing with Kaori-chan…"

"Then why not join the volleyball club?"

"If I do…what if she just ups and leaves again?"

"What are you talking about?"

"… After Kaori-chan left, my third year sucked. I wasn't motivated to play anymore. Being able to watch Kaori as she took off was the highlight of playing for me. I wasn't close with Kaori-chan since she was always with Hinata-san… I wanted to get to know her more, but I felt like I wasn't good enough. We were supposed to run the team together our third year. I had it all planned out…I would come over to her house to discuss volleyball matters and eventually get her to be open to people outside of the court. She would be the respected captain and I would be the empathetic co-captain. I would be the feelings she couldn't express outside of the court and she would be the passion I lacked in everything else."

"You started playing because of her?"

"No. My mom wanted me to join a sport so I joined volleyball on a whim. Actually, that isn't entirely true. In the beginning of my first year at Yukigaoka I watched Kaori-chan play with her father and her little brother outside. Kaori-chan was a conservative girl of little words, so seeing that expression on her face… I wanted to be able to do something that made me feel and look like that too. I joined thinking some of her passion would rub off on me. She has a natural ability to have people gather around her despite how shy she was. That's why everyone on our team trusted her so much…she was real. You know I actually wanted to be a setter originally, but I just couldn't get into it. While we were cleaning up after practice I asked Kaori-chan why she liked playing as a wing spiker so much and she told me that she gets to fly. I'm sure she had more to say about it, but she left it at that. I didn't understand what she meant until I watched her closely during practice."

"Then why not be a wing spiker? Why a middle blocker?"

"Sh! I'm getting there!" she snapped. "Ah, I lost my train of thought. Thanks a lot… The point is the view from behind and the view from the other side. They are two entirely different experiences, but both still manage to give me chills every time. I wanted to see that view for myself, but I also wanted to see her. I had my mind made up. I was going to be a wing spiker, but then when Kaori-chan asked me if I decided on a position yet, I said middle blocker instead out of embarrassment."

"So you just blurted it out by chance?"

"Beforehand I overheard our captain and coach asking Kaori-chan if she could be a middle blocker since our team needed more of those than wing spikers. Kaori-chan looked sad, but said she would do it if no one else was willing. I became that willing person. I became the one who allowed her to play how she liked."

My eyebrow twitched and I stood up, slamming my hands onto the table. "So just join now and be that middle blocker again! Why are girls so complicated? If you want something just take it!"

I noticed everyone in class looking at me because of my outburst. I crossed my arms, and closed my eyes as if nothing happened.

"I thought I told you, I'm afraid of her leaving again…"

"No, you're afraid of finding out that you actually have a passion for something. Once she left you blamed her for everything. You blinded yourself from the truth. Even if you wouldn't play with her on the same team again, you could have made your goal to play against her and be the one to block all her spikes. Don't take it out on the sport just because one person made you feel betrayed."

"Aria-chan! This is Suda-san!" Saito shouted from the hall window. We turned to see Saito, Hinata, and the tall red head who looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here.

"T-Tall…," Hinata muttered over and over again.

"Try being open to new experiences rather than clinging onto old ones," I ended before I went over to the hall window to yell at Hinata for not reading the situation.

"Aria-chan?" Saito asked, seeing Miura's distraught face.

Miura got up and came out into the hall to meet Suda. She held her hand out, "Miura Aria! Nice to meet ya!"

Suda took her hand and shook it. "Suda Aoi."

"How tall are you?" Miura asked, looking up at her. "I'm five foot five."

"Five foot nine," Suda replied.

"N-Nine inches taller than me?" Saito stuttered.

"Can I go now?" Suda asked, crossing her arms.

"I saw you walk by a few times…I thought you were just trying to kill time," Saito replied, putting a finger to her chin innocently.

"I'm going to get something to drink," I announced, making my way out.

"Ah, buy me something too, please!" Saito asked. I nodded silently.

"Me too!" Hinata asked. I glared at him and whatever I looked like through his eyes must have been horrifying from the expression he made. Saito had to comfort him.

There was a short girl at the vending machine by the time I got there. I didn't mind waiting, but she just couldn't make up her mind. She didn't even look like a high schooler. She looked more like a middle schooler.

"Hurry up already!" I snapped causing the small girl to jump and look up at me.

She stuck out her tongue and went back to deciding what drink to get. This girl had to be shorter than Saito and she had dark pink hair. Was her height due to genetics? Maybe she was a late bloomer.

The girl decided to just retract her money and leave.

 _She should have just done that in the first place!_

I bought two cartons of milk and headed back to my class where I assumed Saito and the others still were.

"Suda-san, I think you scared Hinata-kun," Saito said as Miura was crouched beside a fetal positioned Hinata.

"I didn't do anything," Suda muttered darkly, throwing her hands onto her hips, her elbow knocking into an innocent passerby in the process.

 _Why are they taking up so much of the hallway?_

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

"Hm?" Suda turned to see who she hit.

"Ah!" I recognized the guy. He turned his head over to me, rubbing his shoulder. "You're…one of Kimura-san's friends."

The blond guy with amber eyes grabbed my arm, causing my friends and Suda to stare at him. The gaze this guy was giving me was intense enough to make my face flush in embarrassment. "What is your-"

He was cut off by Kageyama handing me my drink. "Thank you, Kageyama-san," I said as the blond guy let go of my arm.

"You couldn't have at least gotten Suda-san and I a drink?" Aria asked offendedly.

"I don't care," Suda stated flatly.

"Are you alright?" Hinata asked me while Aria and Kageyama had an argument with Suda in the middle of them. "Did you know that guy?"

I shook my head, noticing the blond guy was gone. "I've seen him around though."

"He's not in my class," Aria added.

"…this conversation is meaningless," Suda said.

 _He's not in my class either…that just leaves two other options… This isn't important. I should stop thinking about it._

There was only ten minutes left before school ended. I finished my quiz early so I had nothing to do but quietly wait. I leaned my cheek against my hand with my elbow propped up on the table. I tapped my fingers on my cheek to get my blood flowing a little.

 _I need to find a new libero and a manager… Kimura-san is in basketball so I can't possibly ask him. Michimiya-senpai said no third years would waste their last year being a manager, especially since our team has a poor reputation._

I looked to the other side of the room.

 _Suo- I mean Momo-chan doesn't look like the libero-type. She looks…too soft to be able to handle all the bruises that come with that position._

I bit my lip.

 _Maybe I should beg one of the guys in class to be our manager… Who comes to mind first when I think of a manager for the girls' team?_

I shut my eyes as the blond guy from earlier came to mind.

 _He's better than no one…but I don't even know who he is… He is certainly a first year… I should ask Kimura-san about him._

School ended and Kimura left before I could talk to him. I was going to ask Momo next, but she seemed to have left already. I gave up for the day and went to practice.

On our way home after practice, I kept groaning until Kageyama would acknowledge me. I've been groaning every minute, but he hasn't said anything.

I made a sour face and looked at my phone.

"Nao just got home," I announced. "I should treat his teammates for walking him home after practice every day."

"…."

 _Seriously?_

"UGH!" I groaned loudly, flailing my arms.

"Hu," he said. I looked at him and stopped walking. "Hu hu hu…."

I shivered.

 _That sounded pretty ominous…_

"W-Were you trying to laugh, Kageyama-san?"

"I wanted to see what you would do if I ignored you."

I punched his shoulder hard enough for him to feel the pain. We continued walking. "So what did I look like?"

"An idiot."

"Isn't that what you usually see?" He shoved me, causing me to stumble to the side. I puffed my cheeks and went back to his side.

"Why did you need my attention?" he asked.

"Rin-chan got better at setting. Those additional morning practices with her are really working. She is a bit shaky from time to time, but she can set away from herself now. She can somewhat control how high and low she makes her tosses."

"That's good."

"We had a lot of spiking drills today; mostly to hit them down the line. Fujimoto-san isn't budging about quitting as the libero. I guess even if she didn't quit we would have to hope that someone would join next year that would be interested in playing that position. I would do it for everyone, but…I don't have very fond memories of it. The point is we have no libero so our defense has weakened tremendously."

"You can scout new members."

"I asked a few girls, but they are already in other club or they aren't interested in joining a sport. It's that damn rumor that is ruining our chances of getting new members."

"I'm sure you'll find someone."

"Gee thanks. I'm sure tomorrow I'll have a new member on the team."

 _You're not some sort of lucky charm. You're special to me, but not that special._

The next morning we had an unexpected guest in the middle of Rin's private training practice.

"I was wondering why you two were always the first here."

"Machi-senpai!" Rin and I both exclaimed.

She walked over to us, pulling up her padding. "I started to notice Rin getting better during practice. I know we would warm up together, but I didn't think all that would have her improving how she was."

Rin started tearing up as Machi lightly ruffled Rin's hair. "I should have been the one to teach you… I'm your senpai and you're the one who will carry on the setter's legacy. I would always train with my senpai because I wanted to be like her… I guess I forgot that I was now my senpai and I needed to train my own successor." Machi scratched the back of her head. "Sorry, Rin-tan."

Rin wiped the stray tears that fell. "It's fine. She was my role model too, but I wasn't able to learn under her…"

"Ah! Really? Sorry!"

The three of us laughed. I left Machi to train her new pupil.

Kageyama overslept today so I didn't bother waking him. I had no one to be around for once and it felt kind of lonely.

I sat outdoors on a bench on the side of the gym. I leaned back and took in a breath of fresh air before I heard a distant ringing sound in my ears and my eyes started to feel heavy. My head had been hurting since Fujimoto first told me about becoming a wing spiker. I'm sure it's just from stress.

 _Maybe…I can just doze off…just for a few minutes…._

I let myself slip away into the darkness as the ringing sound grew louder. I couldn't open my eyes anymore to see where it was coming from. My body went limp and my mind started to become all numb.


	6. Chapter 6

**Just so you guys know, there is a character description chapter for you to refer to if you forget who someone is or what they look like.**

* * *

 **Ms. Hirano's POV-**

"How long before you'll give up?" the school nurse asked me as I camped outside his door, waiting for him.

"Long enough for you to agree. I can be quite persistent," I remarked as he unlocked the door.

He unpacked his things and took off his suit jacket so he could slip on his white lab coat and stethoscope.

"Can you make me some coffee if you're going to bother me this early in the morning?" he asked.

I complied, but still kept the conversation going. "Did you read the file? I know you're busy with your jobs, but you must have looked at it by now."

"You mean this one- Oops. I guess it was just destiny," he said holding up the manila folder, only for the folder to slip out of his fingers and into the trash.

"Hey! The girls' captain and one of the first years wrote all that up! They worked so hard on it."

"It can't be that good."

"You don't know that. I don't really get all the strategy stuff about this sport, but what they came up with looked better than how things are rolling now."

"It could be good. It could be a masterpiece in there, but it's meaningless if they don't go through with it. I've seen that captain around school. She doesn't seem to have a lot of confidence in her own leadership considering how unpopular the club is."

"Hey! I won't stand here while you insult-"

"Nurse!" a blond-haired boy shouted alongside both of my team's setters.

"Hirano-sensei!" Mizuno cried, running over to me.

"What happened?" I asked calmly, seeing Saito being held in the blond boy's arms. From the corner of my eyes I could see Igarashi lose his composure for a split second. That was completely out of his character.

"Kaori-chan stepped out for a bit while Machi-senpai and I were practicing together," Mizuno explained as she started to cry. I pulled her into a hug to comfort her.

"Lay her on the bed over there," Igarashi commanded as he slipped on gloves. The boy nodded and did as he was told while Igarashi swooped in to listen to Saito's heart and feel her pulse. "Can anyone tell me more about what happened? She just went outside and fell? Did she hit her head?" He pulled out Saito's hair tie and started to feel her scalp for any bumps.

"I saw her lounging on a bench outside and when I tried to talk to her she wasn't responding. I shook her shoulders but she wouldn't wake up. I even tried pinching her cheeks and her shoulder," the boy explained.

Machi nodded. "Then he came running into the gym, yelling for help."

I bit my lip, trying to hide my worry from the teens. I had to be strong for them.

"I-Is Kaori-chan going to be okay?" Mizuno stuttered out.

"She will be. She just needs some rest and fluids," Igarashi explained, rolling up Saito's sleeve for an IV drip. His frown was normal, but his eyes sharpened after he rolled up her sleeve.

Machi gasped and when Mizuno went to go see, I pulled her back.

"You two should be going to practice. Don't worry I'll stay here with Saito-san and drop by later. She is in good hands with Igarashi-sama," I said, giving a smile to Mizuno. Machi still looked bewildered, but nodded. Machi took Mizuno out of the nurses' office.

"I-If I could help-" the boy started, but Igarashi cut him off.

"Push that small desk over here. My basic supplies are in there," Igarashi commanded while I went to the other side of Saito's bed to be out of Igarashi's way.

 _What caused them all to react like th-_

I gasped loudly, covering my mouth with my hands. There were scars along her arm some long and others small, but most of them were concentrated by her wrist. "W…What on Earth…" None of the scars looked recent, but they were recent at one point in time.

The boy did as he was told and Igarashi tied a rubber band around Saito's bicep, cleaned the area where the needle would go in, and connected her to the IV drip.

"What's your name boy?" Igarashi asked.

"N-Nakamura Satoshi!" the boy replied, looking away. He probably couldn't stand to see Saito like this.

"Don't you have somewhere you need to be? Judging by your attire you're in the basketball club."

"… If it's okay… I'd like to stay here until Saito-san wakes up…."

"You can drop by after your practice. You'll just be in my way right now."

"But…" Nakamura gritted his teeth and clenched his fists before surrendering.

Once he left, Igarashi spoke up, "So I'm Igarashi-sama in front of the students? Interesting…"

"Is she going to be alright?" I stoked Saito's head as Igarashi felt her forehead.

"She seems to be fatigued…most likely from stress…"

 _He's hiding something from me. He sounds hesitant as if he is trying to choose his words wisely…._

"I can't believe… You don't think her parents abuse her, right?"

"No, they wouldn't dream of hurting her."

"How would you know? If it's not abuse then that would mean she was cutting herself! I can't imagine someone as sweet as her to do such a thing."

"Roll up her other sleeve."

I did as I was told as he reached over to pull up her sweater. It was not surprising anymore that her other arm would be just as scarred. Before he could pull up her sweater, I stopped him.

"Watching you do this makes me uncomfortable. You look like a pedophile…no offense."

"Don't worry only licensed pedophiles can get away with this."

"Don't joke like that! Let me do it."

He gave in as I pulled up her sweater just below her breasts. Igarashi pressed his fingers into her stomach and abdomen area. It was heartbreaking to see all these light lines all over Saito's body. It was like she was thrown into a shredder. Okay, maybe I'm over-exaggerating with that comparison.

"Pull down her pants."

"I never thought I'd live to hear you ask me that. If anything I thought you would ask me to pull down my pants before a minor's."

"Just do it. I need to know how much of her body is cut up."

"..."

 _When he says it like that…_

I shook my head as I pulled down her pants to her ankles. There were more scars.

It started to make sense to me why she wore such long braces on her arms and legs with her kneepads.

"She is a well-mannered girl. She can't be in a gang or anything. If there is even a small possibility… I have to report child abuse." I pulled out my phone, ready to dial child services.

"Just trust me. She isn't being abused at home." He ran his fingers over her eyes as I put my phone away and pulled up Saito's pants. "She stopped taking her medicine. That just put a strain on her brain, but adding more stress..." I couldn't follow with what he meant. I just watched as he looked inside her ears and pulled up her eyelids to shine a light through them. "Don't worry too much about the cuts. None of the ones I saw looked to be recent. They are clearing up slowly which means she probably uses some sort of ointment or cream for them."

"What kind of medicine does she take?"

"Doctor-patient confidentiality."

"I'm her faculty adviser for goodness sake!"

"I can't go around telling people about my patients' personal lives."

"Does that mean you know something I don't? This is the first time you've met her from what I know and she isn't even conscious." He stayed silent as he went over to his medicine cabinet to pull out some herbs to grind up. "Don't ignore me. How do you know she takes medications?"

"She will be fine… After she wakes up I'll give her some tea and send her to class."

I held Saito's hand. "She transferred here under unknown circumstances, but her background and personality looked good, so nothing seemed suspicious. Michimiya-san, the captain, tried to recruit her ever since she stepped foot into the school. She seemed against it from what I heard, but here she is now… That folder I gave you… Michimiya-san would never have come to me to talk about all that stuff. I know she feels like making a change and being a leader, but she always holds herself back. Saito-san on the other hand is someone full of drive and passion, but lacks some confidence. I didn't have a lot of time this term to supervise the practices, but I've stuck my head in a few times when I was in the area. She would be helping the girls with their form and run drills with them. That folder is the product of Michimiya-san and Saito-san's hard work. They want this team to be better and I can't help but work hard myself to get that goal accomplished."

"And that's why you won't give up on me…"

I nodded. "You're the only one I know that can do this. You know what it's like to be in the game."

"I don't play anymore."

"Then you can start because these girls need you."

"…."

"Don't let their hard work go to waste."

As I got up to check up on my girls, I noticed Igarashi take the manila folder out of the trash. I couldn't help but smile to myself as I left. I couldn't keep my face like that for long.

Once I entered the gym all the girls ran over to me asking what was wrong with Saito. I just told them that she was exhausted and needed some rest since she has been under a lot of stress. I hoped that Machi didn't tell anyone about Saito's little secret, but I was wrong. I didn't have an answer to explain why her arm was like that, but for all they knew it was just that arm.

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

I opened my eyes and immediately closed them.

 _Too bright…_

I slowly opened my eyes again and reached my left arm up to rub my eyes. I saw an unfamiliar ceiling.

I sat up and felt something tugging on my right arm. I looked over and saw my arm was connected to an IV.

Puzzled I looked around to see I was in the infirmary. There were curtains on both sides of me so I couldn't tell if there was anyone in the bed beside mine.

I mentally cursed when I realized that whoever took me in here probably saw how scratched up my arm was. I pulled out the IV and hopped off the bed. I wobbled a little, but I held onto the side of the bed to stabilize myself.

 _Getting to the door will be difficult…_

"Can you keep it down? I'm trying to sleep," a small voice grumbled. The curtain behind me opened and I saw the short dark pink haired girl. The same girl I nearly bumped into when I was leaving Momo's lunch group.

"You!" I exclaimed.

She glared at me from where she was on her bed. She decided that fighting me was useless and laid back flatly, shoving her pillow over her face in an attempt to block out the any sounds and light.

"S-Sorry…," I whispered. I spotted my sports bag on the floor near my bed and crouched down to see if my uniform was in there. It luckily was.

From the sound of things it seems like it was only me and that girl in the infirmary. I've heard rumors from my classmates about the nurse. A lot of them had a crush on him and would fake illnesses just to visit him.

I threw off my clothes and changed back into my uniform. Based on the time, break didn't start yet. Luckily I got the feeling back in my body to walk properly, but then the door opened just as I was about to walk out.

It was a man in his early forties at most with a sharp face. He had spiky dark green hair, clear-rimmed glasses, and lime green eyes. His expression was stoic and judging from the white lab coat he wore over his dress shirt he was the nurse.

"I'm feeling a lot better," I reported. "I'm going to go to class now. Thank you for helping me."

He didn't move out of the way. Instead he closed the door behind him, turned me around, and escorted me back to my bed.

"You shouldn't be up yet," he said to me. Even his voice sounded devoid of emotion. I sat on the side of the bed.

"There really is nothing wrong with me." I didn't mean to, but my voice cracked.

"Shut up…," my bed neighbor growled.

"Play nice Tanji-san," the doctor said as he put on his stethoscope and began to prepare some tea. He walked over and handed me a cup of hot tea. "These are a few herbs I've gathered."

"…great…," I mumbled, taking a sip "Ah, hot hot hot." I blew on the hot liquid after my tongue was burned.

He pulled up a chair to me and sat down, pulling out a file. "Someone has been avoiding their medications."

 _H-How…?_

"I don't know what you're talking about."

He sighed. "If you won't cooperate with me I just need to write one note and you'll be out of games and under bedrest with a stay-at-home nurse."

"What?"

"You're a volleyball player, right? What position?"

"W-Wing spiker."

"Which ones aren't you taking?"

 _This is going no where…_

"Look, I don't need them anymore."

"You were experiencing some side effects from abruptly stopping your medicine. Have you been participating in any high-stress activities?"

"Nothing comes to mind…"

He leaned back in his seat. "I hear your team is looking for a coach. Who's calling the shots now?"

"We don't have a coach and Hirano-sensei doesn't have any idea how to manage us other than the paperwork."

"From what I've heard, you guys have been practicing hard."

"The captain and I have been organizing everyone. Attendance has been spot on and the girls are really improving."

"Isn't it hard to have to keep everyone coming?"

"Sometimes…but I handle the drills and workouts. Captain handles encouraging everyone to work hard. I'm not very good at rallying others."

"Where did you get all those scars?"

I shot my head up to look at him. "You saw."

"I'm sure you figured out that I at least saw them."

"They don't matter anymore," I said, shuffling uncomfortably.

"If they don't matter why do you hide them?"

"Because…people talk…and they judge before knowing the whole story."

He backed off an obviously sensitive topic. "You had a seizure that rendered you unconscious. Is this the first time it's happened?"

"A seizure?"

"It's normal for people to not register they're having one. I don't see any medications prescribed for seizures."

I furrowed my brows. "This is the first time I've heard about seizures. Usually I have panic attacks… Ah!"

"You're not hiding anything, I have your medical file on hand."

"Is that normal for a nurse?"

He scratched the back of his head. "This is just a part-time job, I'll have you know."

I hopped of the bed. "Excuse my tone but my well-being doesn't concern you. You're only here as an option that people take when they need you, but I don't need you. I don't need anyone."

I walked past him, putting down the tea he gave me. I opened the door to leave but before I could exit he managed to get the last word. "That's a lonely life if you don't need anyone."

I bit my lip and left for class.

"Did you oversleep today? You missed the first class," Kageyama asked as I settled into my seat.

"Something like that," I replied, trying to forget everything that happened this morning. "Machi-senpai decided to start training Rin-chan personally now so I can focus my energy on finding a manager and a libero."

"That's good. Did you have someone in mind yet for the manager?"

I thought back to the blond boy and looked around the room to see if either Momo or Kimura was here. I spotted Kimura chatting with a few of his friends, none of them being the blond one.

"I have one," I replied as I stood up and made my way over to Kimura. I popped out my chest to straighten my back as I went over to his desk and lean my hands against it. Him and his friends stared at me in surprise. I mustered up the biggest smile I could before I maintained eye contact with Kimura. "Kimura-san, can I ask you for a favor?"

"S-Sure Saito-chan. Hey stop it," he snapped at his friends who were elbowing him.

"Who was that guy that was fighting with you when we had lunch?"

"Huh?" he asked as if he was taken off guard. "Oh, him. Don't worry about trash like him, Saito-chan. I'm sorry he ruined your lunch. He has no sense I tell you."

I pouted, backing off his desk. "I was hoping to ask him something."

"That's so selfish of you to say," one of Kimura's friends commented, putting Kimura in a headlock. "Help your brother out."

"You two are brothers?"

 _Maybe they're stepbrothers?_

"We're not!" Kimura shouted. "His name is… Actually…why don't you stop by the basketball team's gym afterschool today? We're having a game. You can find him there and ask him whatever you wanted."

"Really?"

He nodded. "I'm surprised you would choose him when I'm-"

"Are you harassing Saito-chan?" Momo asked, barging into the conversation.

"He was. I saw it all," one of Kimura's friends stated.

I slipped away from the argument the group was having. I gave Kageyama a thumbs up when I returned to my seat.

 _Hopefully everything will turn out well today._

I had lunch with Kageyama, Hinata, and Aria.

"How's track and field? I want to see you at your next meet," I asked Aria.

She laughed sheepishly. "I actually quit during break."

"WHAT?!" Hinata and I both yelled.

"Why would you quit? This seems like it just happened out of nowhere!" Hinata asked as I nodded in agreement with him.

"I decided last night that track and field wasn't for me. I wasn't putting my heart in it and that's just a disservice to my team."

"I understand," I said, putting my hand over hers.

 _I still can't forget my first practice match at Karasuno._

"How's finding a libero?" Kageyama asked me.

I was confused why he asked me when I already updated him earlier. "I didn't find one yet."

"You're looking for a libero?" Aria asked.

I nodded. "Our current one wanted to be a wing spiker so we have no one willing to be the libero. I was considering just doing it myself, but I'm just holding out hope that I'll find someone new to join that's interested in the position."

Aria looked at Kageyama wearily, but when I turned to look at Kageyama he seemed like his usual self.

When I got to practice everyone was already there. It felt weird to be the last one to arrive.

I felt tension through the air as I walked up to the girls. "Are you guys okay? Did something happen before I got here?"

Michimiya stepped forward and embraced me.

 _Okay now I'm officially lost._

She let me go and put her hands on my shoulders. I could see her eyes tearing up. "Saito-chan, you know we all care about you right? You don't have to feel alone in this world."

"Huh?" I asked as I stepped away from Michimiya. "I'm sorry, I don't really understand what's going on here."

"I-I saw…," Machi tried to explain. "…your arm…"

"Oh…," I put my hands on my arms.

 _They must have taken me to the infirmary._

"Don't cut yourself Kaori-chan!" Rin cried.

"You guys think I did this to myself?" I asked carefully. They all nodded and I took in their expressions: worry mixed with sadness.

"You can talk to us, Saito-chan," Michimiya said. "If you're not comfortable we can help you find someone to help you." She reached over to take my hand, but I backed away from her.

I didn't want this. They are afraid of me, afraid of making one wrong move as if I would so something drastic because of it.

"You guys had what I'm assuming was a whole day to think about this and all you could think of was me cutting myself because I'm depressed?" I turned to leave but Konodo stopped me from leaving.

"Look we just wanted to help," Konodo said.

"Well you're not! I can and have been dealing with this by myself." I shoved Konodo aside and she stumbled to the ground.

"Konodo-senpai!" Hamano shouted rushing over to her side. "Are you alright? Why the hell did you have to go and do that?"

I bit the inside of my cheek. I didn't mean to push her to the floor. I looked at my teammates faces again and had a flash back of my time in Hakuryo.

My breathing hitched.

Hamano stood up and roughly grabbed me by my arm. "Stop acting so perfect when it's obvious you're not."

"Akane that's enough!" Konodo shouted.

"Hamano-senpai!"

I tried to break free from her, but her grip on me only tightened with her nails digging into my arm through my sleeve. "You're reaching for more than you deserve."

I started to cry, "P-Please l-let me g-go. Please."

Her eyes widened as she tried to pull me towards her, but I did my best to pull back. "Don't act like you're the victim here."

"Akane-chan!"

"Akane, quit it you're hurting her!"

Machi was about to separate us, but then.

"YA!" I screamed as the fabric on my sleeve became lose and tore off from our tug-of-war. We both fell back and everyone got a good look at my exposed arm. Everyone was frozen in shock. I guess not all of them saw the damage until now.

I scrambled onto my feet and ran out of the gym while trying to wipe my tears. I tripped and fell into the grass. I curled up into a ball and finally noticed how fast my heart was beating. It was getting harder to breathe with each passing minute.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry," I repeated as I gasped for air.

* * *

 **Hirano's POV-**

"Let me introduce you to the girls," I said, looking up at the girl before me from the application she handed me.

She bowed, "Thank you for accepting me!"

I couldn't stop myself from smiling yet again today. "I'm glad to have you on board with us. Now if only a certain egotistic doctor I know would do the same…"

"Pardon?"

"Don't worry about it." I stood up and gestured towards the door to the faculty room. "You're a first year too, right?" She nodded as we made our way down the hall. "Do you happen to know Suda Aoi or Saito Kaori? They're our other first years on the team."

"I guess you can say I know Kaori-chan a lot more than Suda-san. We have history."

"That's perfect! I'm sure you'll get along fine with everyone, Miura-san," I said as I opened the doors to the gym.

* * *

 **Tanji's POV-**

I sipped my milk as I wandered around campus with no real direction in mind.

I heard whimpers when I got outside. I shook my head deciding to ignore them. It was none of my business.

I continued down the outdoor hall that connected to the next building, but then I felt a nagging sensation wash over me.

 _Why am I being like this? I don't care about these stupid students._

I growled. "There's no harm in telling whoever it is to shut up."

I made my way towards the cries expecting to see a girl crying over a rejection.

"Hey, do you think you can shut the hell u- Wha…?" I loosened my grip on my milk which caused it to slip out of my hand and onto the ground. I quickly walked over and fell onto my knees beside a girl who was hyperventilating.

I recognized her from this morning. "Oi, are you okay? Slow down!" I pulled her into my arms and she just clutched her arm to her chest as if to hide it. Her sleeve was torn off.

 _Did someone bully her? That's some bad luck to have a seizure the same day you get harassed._

"Ugh, you're covered in… Hey get a grip!" I shook her as she began muttering apologies out. Tears were falling while her nose ran wet and her saliva slipped through her lips. "Someone help!"

I don't usually shout as loud as I did, but I can't deal with this girl. She is always so noisy when I run into her.

No one came.

I cursed under my breath and pulled out my handkerchief and pressed it against her mouth. She squired under me, but I was able to overpower her enough to get her breathing to slow down.

 _It looks like I'm trying to kidnap her now._

She put her hands over mine as I slipped mine out. She pressed the fabric against her mouth as I laid her back down and ran over to a nearby vending machine to buy a water bottle.

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

"Here," the girl from the infirmary said, holding out a water bottle from behind herself as if she didn't want to make eye contact with me.

"Thank you," I said with my raspy voice. I quickly chugged the whole bottle down, much to my throat's delight. I breathed heavily after finishing the bottle.

The infirmary girl quickly turned to see if I was alright. "Tch."

"What?"

"I thought you were about to hyperventilate again."

"Ah, thank you…for helping me…"

"You're always such a hassle to be around," she sighed, rubbing her temples. "You owe me a new milk box."

"Sorry…" I looked around her to see a nearby white box on the ground.

I went to a nearby restroom with her following me. She leaned against the wall as I washed my face.

"Can I help you?" I asked, raising up one of my brows in her direction. As expected, she didn't reply to me. I decided to change back into my uniform and head to the basketball game Kimura told me about. The infirmary girl stopped following me and I surprisingly didn't run into any of my teammates. I should have expected them to not chase after me, but I let myself believe that they cared.

I signed and pulled out my compact mirror to make sure I didn't look like someone who just had a panic attack. My face looked a little swollen, but at this point what could I do?

I needed to find a manager for the team.

I closed my mirror and tucked it into my bag.

It's funny how despite everything that happened today, I'm still trying my hardest.

I began laughing to myself.

 _There is something seriously wrong with me._

* * *

 **Aria's POV-**

"Are you sure someone on the boys' team could help us understand Saito-chan?" Michimiya asked as I led the volleyball team to the boy's gym.

"I'm positive." I tried to mask the hurt in my voice, but did a poor job of it.

 _Why couldn't she have talked to me?_

We barged into the gym and scanned the room to see all the boys in the gym staring at us in confusion along with their female manager. Ms. Hirano led us in the direction of their coach and faculty adviser.

Their faculty adviser quickly went to bow when we got to him. "Hirano-san, it's nice to see you. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine. I think I'm making a lot of progress on finding a coach."

"Is that so? I hope everything turns out well. Is there a reason you and…your team are here?"

"Who is she?" the boy's coach asked as the boys went back to their practice. "A volleyball mom?"

"M-Mom? I'll have you know I'm-"

"Sensei!" the girls and I shouted.

She cleared her throat to regain her composure. "We would like to speak to one of your players regarding one of our own. What was his name?"

"Kageyama Tobio," I replied.

"Ah yes. Is everything alright? If he caused you guys some trouble I'll make sure the thoroughly apologizes."

"Hold on! You can't just waltz on in here with your army and demand to see one of my players! Who do you think you are you old hag?" the coach shouted at our adviser.

I shivered in fear as Ms. Hirano radiated a dark aura despite her pleasant expression. She held her hand out to the coach who began to catch onto the situation he caused. "Hirano Risa. I'm the faculty adviser for the army behind me."

"U-Ukai Keishin!" the coach stuttered out, shaking her hand only to yelp at her iron grip. "K-Kageyama! Come here!"

Kageyama sent me a puzzled look as he left the court and came over. I shook my head and mouthed Kaori's name. As we all left with Kageyama I swore I caught Hinata with an uncharacteristic look on his face.

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

I took a deep breath before I opened the door to the basketball team's gym. That deep breath I took was soon lost by the sheer moment I just happened on by coincidence.

I couldn't pull my eyes away as the guy that's been stuck in my head these past few days just pulled off a slam dunk in the basket in slow motion, or at least it felt like everything was happening slowly.

He wiped away the sweat on his forehead as a few of his teammates ran by and patted him on the back.

"Saito-chan!" I heard someone call out. I turned to see a girl from Momo's friend group waving me over. "Come join us!"

I made my way to them and smiled when I saw Momo there as well.

"I didn't know you were coming," Momo said as she happily clasped her hands around mine until a thought occurred to her that caused her to frown. "Ah, don't you have volleyball practice?"

"I decided to take a break today," I replied. "Care to explain this stuff to me? I'm rather new."

"No way! You don't know much about basketball?" the girl that called me over nearly shouted. I tried to shush her out of embarrassment since the people around us began to look. "You're too cute, Saito-chan." Now that I think about it, I think this girl's name was Lilian. She had long red hair and light blue eyes and was about five foot six. Upon closer inspection, I could see small traces of freckles under her eyes.

"We're the orange jerseys," Momo explained. "Kimura-kun is number eight."

I listened intently to Lilian and Momo's explanations on the point system, fouls, sets, and so on.

"Go Karasuno!" Lilian shouted, overpowering Momo's softer shout. I guess Momo can only get loud when she's mad.

Lilian elbowed me to cheer along with them. We moved up to the higher level to get a better view and I could see the basketball team's fan club shouting their heads off next to us.

"I-I don't think I ca-" Lilian gave me a light shove forward, causing me to fall into the railing by surprise. Before I could process anything I shouted out "GO KARASUNO!" I could feel my face heating up as everyone quieted down to stare at me, even the players.

"Wow, I really didn't think you had it in you to cheer that loud," Lilian said, trying to stop herself from cracking up. I felt the death glares of the fan club on my back as I made eye-contact with that blond boy. His face had a light blush on it as Kimura ran by and draped his arm over his shoulders, waving at me with his free hand.

I straightened my back and hid my face behind my hands, silently cursing at myself for causing a scene.

I never knew basketball was as intense to watch as volleyball was. Every point had me on the edge and number seven, the blond guy, seemed to have gotten better as the match progressed. Our school was in the lead and before I knew it the game finished.

Lilian, Momo, and I made our way down to the lower level and waited for the traffic to filter out of the gym before we headed over to Kimura to congratulate him on his win.

"Nice work out there, Shitki," Lilian said, patting him on the back. "I gotta hand it to you, I really thought you would hold back the team today."

"Don't spread lies about me to Saito-chan! Though, I guess you can say we were able to go above and beyond today because of that special cheer." He winked at me causing me to hide my face behind my hands again.

"Please don't speak of that again," I pleaded.

"Why? It really pumped up the whole team to have Saito Kaori of all people here to cheer us on."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"It's best you don't know if you don't see it," he replied, patting my head.

I looked up at him, trying to ignore the fact that I almost flinched when he reached up to pat my head. "Where is your friend?" Lilian and Momo leaned in closer, curious about who I was referring to. "J-Just because I didn't want to be rude in front of him when I tell you I don't need to speak with him anymore."

After settling in earlier I realized that asking number seven to be the girls' team's manager was impossible. He was already in a club and it would just be a waste of my breath asking him when I already knew the outcome. I was back to square one: no clue on a manager or a libero.

"Who are you talking about? Momo asked.

"What?! I'm sure you worked up all your courage to ask him! Don't let it all go to waste!" Kimura complained. "You know he was pretty off during practice this morning when he came back. It's a relief that didn't happen in the match today."

"It's fine really. I already know what he would say so it's really just a waste of his time if I were to ask."

Kimura pretended to cry as he put his hands on my shoulders. "Saito-chan, you need to have more faith in yourself. Sure he is the lowest quality of trash in this room and he gets asked out a lot, but even he has preferences. You actually fit what he looks for in a-"

"YOU'RE PLANNING ON ASKING OUT ONE OF THE GUYS ON THE BASKETBALL TEAM?!" Lilian shouted.

It took me awhile to process what was said, but when I did I could already tell my face was as red as a tomato. "NO! You guys thought I wanted to confess my love? I just wanted to ask him something that has nothing to do with love!"

"Whoops," Kimura said, backing away from me as he twiddled his fingers. "I have sort of been teasing him about it all day."

"Wait, I think I know who you are… You walked to talk to Satoshi?" Lilian asked me. "You have a death wish." She pointed over to the fan club on the other side of the gym. They were handing the boys water and a towel to wipe their sweat on. "He's a pretty popular guy with those psychos."

"Hey, that's no way to talk about them! I think they're pretty considerate."

"To you guys," Momo added.

"Satoshi…?" I tried as I looked over at him. He accepted a water from one of the girls, but then looked away from her to look at me. I gasped and averted my gaze. "I should head out. I need to pick up my brother. Bye." I turned to leave and ignored the trio calling out for me to wait.

I put a hand over my heart as I walked quickly away from the gym.

 _W-What's going on with me today?_

"Wait! Saito-san!" a deep voice shouted from behind me before I felt myself spin around one hundred eighty degrees to meet someone with a white number seven on their jersey. I looked up only to be met with tired amber eyes. The blond boy named Satoshi came after me, but why?

He let go of me quickly and adjusted the white towel around his neck.

"Are you… Shiki said you wanted to ask me something."

"It's not important anymore. I know you won't agree." I bowed and turned to leave. "I'm sorry for wasting your time."

"What if I might agree?"

"What?"

"You won't know the outcome until you ask."

"If it's that important for you to know…" I looked off to the side. "I was going to ask if you wanted to join the volleyball team…as the girls' manager…" I stole a glance at him to see him caught off guard. "But I saw today that that's just impossible."

"…sorry."

"What are you apologizing for? It's not your fault that you already have a club." I reached up to pat his shoulder before I left. "Congrats on your win…"

* * *

 **Kageyama's POV-**

"So you all saw…"

"Please tell us what's going on with her! We just wanted to help, but instead…we might have just made things worse," Michimiya, the captain, said after their adviser explained what happened.

"…I don't think I have the right to tell you…"

"Oh you damn right do," Miura snapped.

"He's right…but if Saito-chan is hurting herself you shouldn't just keep it to yourself," one of the girls said.

"She isn't cutting herself if that's what you are all implying." I crossed my arms as I glared at Miura and the girl that ripped Saito's sweater. "There was a point in time where she did cut herself, but not anymore. She's happier now than she was ever before."

"So she was hurting herself…just not recently…," one girl commented.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to help you all. I don't agree with what you did."

"I admit we could have handled things better, but you have to understand out intentions were good."

"You made her out to be emo when…she was harassed a lot at Hakuryo. Do you know how hard it was for her to get to where she is now?" They all stayed silent. "I managed to get her to see Karasuno as a new start for her when all she wanted to do was… I'm sorry, but this is a sensitive topic for her so please just wait for her to be ready to talk and when she does, that's when you will be able to help her the most."

As I was on my way home, Hinata pulled me aside.

"What did the girls' team want?"

I shrugged. "They needed me to explain something to them."

"I didn't see Kaori-chan with them…"

"…I'm sure she's fine. She probably had something to do at home."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." He hoped on his bike. "I'll see you, Kageyama!"

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

"You should start taking your medicine again if you had a panic attack today. What triggered it? That girl ripping off your sleeve?"

I nodded as I sipped the chamomile tea in my hands. "Whenever I take all those pills…all I feel is numb and all I see in those containers is…," I looked at my reflection in the tea, "…a freak."

"Well you can't avoid your teammates forever. Are you going to tell them?"

"…I just…don't feel comfortable enough to…"

"Just do everything at your own pace."

"It just comes to easy to me to talk to you…but that can't be enough huh…"

"It's enough for the moment."

"Yeah… Hey, do you mind…if I address you more…casually?"

He nodded, "But don't expect me to say 'chan' ever."

"I kind of figured, Kageyama," I laughed.

I continued to tell him how it went with the prospective manager, causing him to give an ominous-sounding laugh.

I walked into the gym in my school uniform. I was met with the whole team already here, plus our adviser and for some reason Aria. I flinched when they all bowed to me and apologized for their actions. They explained how their hearts were in the right place, but not their actions, and how Kageyama scolded them after I left.

"Y-You joined the team?!" I exclaimed, holding Aria at arm's length.

"Meet your new middle blocker," she replied.

"You should have told me you quit track to join volleyball!"

"I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Well I'm utterly speechless."

"It'll be kind of like old times," Mayumi said, pulling the two of us into a hug.

Nomura clasped her hands together. "I feel like a granny looking at you three."

"Let's get to work girls! I scheduled us a practice match on Monday! Don't think you'll have this weekend off!" Ms. Hirano announced.

I bit my lip.

 _We're going to play without an official libero._

Aria patted my back. "Don't worry Kaori-chan, I'm sure you will find someone. Now get changed already, we're going to start without you!"

"Saito-chan," one of my classmates called out during lunch. My friends and I turned to them. "There's someone outside asking for you."

I stood up wondering who it was.

"Were you planning on seeing someone?" Aria asked, ready to back me up.

I shook my head. "It's fine." I walked out into the hall and looked both ways before seeing Satoshi leaning against the wall.

"Ah, S-" I stopped myself before I addressed him by his first name. I tucked my hair behind one ear, shifting my weight uncomfortably.

"Momo told me you were in her class… I'm sorry if Shiki said some weird things to you yesterday…he can be a bit of a pest."

"It's alright." I grabbed my arm awkwardly.

"Can we…talk somewhere more private?" he asked as his cheeks began to darken. I looked around to see a few students looking at us and whispering. Before I could reply he had already grabbed my hand and pulled me along.

His hand felt strong and warm.

 _Ah! Stop it Kaori!_

We stopped behind one of the gyms.

"I didn't formally introduce myself," he said, scratching the back of his head before extending his hand. "Nakamura Satoshi."

I took his hand and shook it. "Saito Kaori."

"I know."

"Huh?"

"That came out wrong! It's just I didn't know your name at first, but I didn't know you were Saito Kaori. I've heard about you, but never really saw you. Then when I found out who you were…yeah. It must have been weird for you to hear me call out to you."

"Don't even worry about it."

"So you're looking for a manager for the volleyball team?"

I nodded, happy for the change in subject. "It'll be really beneficial for us to have a few extra hands."

"I get it. We have three managers on the basketball team."

 _And a fan club._

"Don't feel bad about not being able to help though. I'm sure I'll find someone else."

"Let me help you find someone. It's the least I could do."

"…if it's not too much of a bother, Nakamura-san."

"Nakamura-san makes me feel like an old man like my dad," he confessed. "If you're okay with it, I'd rather you just call me by my first name."

"Satoshi…?"

"It'd be pretty cool if you could come see us play on Tuesday too. It's on campus so it should be convenient."

I smiled, thanking him for the invitation. "Only if you come to watch us play a practice match on Monday."

"It's a deal then," he said, holding out his fist to me. I looked up at him, confused. "Bump it."

I looked at my hand and clenched it, tapping it against Satoshi's. "Like this?"

"Yeah." Taking my attention away from this fist bump, I glanced up at him to see him beaming with happiness.

"I want you all to meet your new coach!" Ms. Hirano announced at practice. "Igarashi Soh."

"The school nurse?" I asked wearily, remembering my last encounter with him.

"You say it like it's a bad thing," Mayumi said, gushing over how lucky we are to have the handsome nurse as our coach.

"If anyone gets injured Igarashi-sama can be of more help than I ever could," Ms. Hirano added.

 _Couldn't he at least have changed out of his work clothes?_

"Does he know how to play?" I asked.

"Do I?" he asked, pushing up his glasses. "It's certainly been awhile." He cracked his knuckles. "Don't mind me. I'm just here to observe your dynamic for now."

"Alright… Let's begin our warm up!" I announced as Ms. Hirano left to work on some paperwork while Igarashi sat beside the exit. At times it looked like he was talking to someone, but no one was there.

* * *

 **Igarashi's POV-**

"Don't think I haven't noticed you're stalking her."

The girl behind the door didn't respond to me verbally, but instead kicked the door.

"If you want to be her friend, all you have to do is go up and ask her."

She kicked the door twice.

"Or did you want to help her out? Maybe join the team? They're having a practice match this Monday you know."

"Saito-chan…maybe just for this coming match…I'll be the libero," Fujimoto said to Saito. "But after that I'm officially done."

"Ah, thank you so much! That gives me a little more time to find a replacement," Saito replied, scribbling down on her clipboard. When Fujimoto walked away from her, I noticed the strain apparent on Saito's forehead.

"You have something she needs and she has something you want. Seems like a fair trade to me," I ended with before heading over to Saito.

"What are we working with here?" I asked, looking over her head at her clipboard. "Battle strategies?"

"I'm working on rotations. I have a good idea of who works well together, but since it's just a practice match coming up I want everyone to get a chance on the court."

"I don't see your name on here."

"This was a rough draft I made during lunch when I didn't know we would be getting a coach today or a temporary libero."

"This sounds like something I should be doing."

"You said you were just observing today!"

"Monday's match isn't today."

"…." She handed me her clipboard.

"You're smarter than I thought you would be," I said as I flipped through the pages.

"Thanks…," she said, trying to occupy herself as I went through her notes. "Look…I'm sorry for being rude…before…"

"Before you found out I was your new coach?"

"No before…when I was leaving your office… I was rude." I looked down at her from her notes.

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

After warming up everyone went into a huddle. The boys' team came to watch us today and I could already hear Hinata cheering.

"We're playing best of five for this practice match. Our first rotation will be numbers six, eleven, ten, thirteen, nine, and eight," Igarashi called out.

"EHH?! I-I'm starting?" Rin shouted as the color in her face began to disappear. I held her hand and squeezed it. "You'll do just fine. You have Machi-senpai and me both here to watch you from the sidelines."

"I just joined a few days ago and I'm already starting?" Aria asked.

"I think it would be good for everyone to get a chance to play today," our coach said.

"Remember to have fun out there girls. You have all been training really hard and this is one of those moments where you get to reap the benefits of all your hard work," our adviser added.

Before I knew it the match started. I couldn't help but shake my leg as I watched the game and occasionally looked around the gym.

 _He said he would come…_

We called a timeout during the first set so Machi and I could talk to Rin about her angles being too deep.

We lost first set, much to the girl's disappointment, but it was time for a comeback.

"Five sub in for thirteen," our coach announced.

"Ah, I'm still getting back into volleyball," Aria whined as she collapsed onto a chair. I handed her a water bottle.

"What do you mean you're not s-subbing me out yet?" Rin cried. I made my way over so I could comfort her.

"Two sub in eight," our coach announced. "Tao, get some rest for now. I'm bringing you back in later."

 _So he does know some of the girl's names._

Halfway through second set Igarashi subbed in Fujimoto, our libero for today, for Hamano.

"Getting anxious to play?" Igarashi asked me.

"Planning on changing out of that lab coat?" I retorted.

We barely won second set.

The match up this round was our strongest offense. On the rotation was Machi, Suda, Konodo, Tao, Michimiya, and me.

"You got this Kaori-chan!" I heard Hinata shout. I turned to wave up at him which he returned ten times over from his spot.

"Go Saito-chan!" I heard Lilian shout. I snapped my head towards her voice to see her, Momo, Kimura, and Satoshi.

 _H-He actually came!_

I smiled to myself as I got into position and passed Michimiya the ball to serve. "You got this Captain!"

She grinned. "I won't let you down."

I felt as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. My worries about a manager and a libero didn't matter anymore.

* * *

 **Satoshi's POV-**

"One touch!" the three girls who jumped up at the net shouted.

"I got it!" another girl shouted who pushed the ball up as another girl ran up and jumped to smash the ball down, past the other team's arms who also jumped up at the next.

I rubbed my face in frustration. "I really don't understand what's going on."

"I'm thinking if the ball hits the ground on the opposite site you get a point," Kimura guessed.

"It looks complicated to play," Momo stated.

We all nodded in agreement.

"Isn't that the school nurse? He's their coach?" Lilian asked, pointing down at the nurse sitting down in his lab coat. "Why is he wearing his coat still?"

I thought back to that morning.

 _She looks fine… Man I wish I asked her how she was doing!_

I remembered the scars on her arm and thought it as best not to bring it up. It seemed like a sensitive topic to talk about with someone who was practically a stranger.

"Nice serve!" the girls shouted as Saito threw the ball up in the air and ran to jump and smash it before she passed a line that I assumed was a boundary. The ball went down towards the line on the other side of the court.

"OUT!" the other team shouted, but the referee blew his whistle and pointed his flag at Karasuno.

The girls cheered as the opposing team's coach called a timeout.

I heard some guys cheering nearby us for Karasuno. They must have been a fan club or something.

I leaned against the railing, watching Saito intently as she talked to the girl who seemed to prefer pushing the ball up a lot.

They subbed out number five for the girl with the different colored uniform.

While I was distracted by the substitution, Saito had already talked to her teammates on the court.

Timeout ended and Saito was back to serve, only this time she just threw the ball up and hit it from her spot on the ground.

"Why didn't she do that one jumping hit?" Kimura asked. "It looks cooler."

"It's probably tiring to do," Lilian suggested.

The other team received it easily and smashed it back. The girl with the different colored uniform saved the ball as the pusher girl came and pushed the ball backwards. Number one and number two ran and jumped, causing the girls on the opposing team to dividedly jump in front of those two. The only problem was, neither of the girls contacted the ball.

The gym was silent as, almost out of nowhere, Saito was in the air. This was different from her serve.

I could see everything happen in slow motion as her arm came forward and her hand contacted the ball, producing a loud sound. She landed with grace in the back line and quickly got set up to defend in case the ball was returned, but it wasn't. She smashed it down the line, faster than anyone else could react.

"WOOOOO!" the boys near us shouted.

"Kaori-chan! Nice shot!" an orange haired boy shouted.

"Don't get cocky!" another boy with darker hair shouted.

"Nice set-up, Kayo!" a tall guy with a man bun shouted.

"Nice save, Fujimoto-san!" a gray-haired boy shouted.

"Saito-chan! Good job!" Lilian shouted with Momo following in her lead.

I wanted to cheer too, but I ended up coughing instead. I forgot to breathe, how lame was that?

I looked to see if Saito noticed, but she was too busy looking at the orange haired boy and the darker haired boy.

"Jealous?" Kimura whispered.

"What are you implying? I'm just looking at the fan club. I didn't know it existed."

"I think that's the boys' volleyball team…," Momo said. "Kageyama-san and Hinata-san are both in my class."

"Ah, so they're first years too," Lilian added. "Could one of them be her boyfriend? That would explain her panic when Shitki was putting ideas in her head."

I looked away but honed my hearing on their conversation.

"If I had to guess, I want to say it's Kageyama," Kimura said.

"W-Why? He doesn't look good with-" Kimura cut off Momo.

"They're always together from what I've noticed," Kimura said. "That's why no one wants to mess with Saito-chan or confess to her."

 _Dammit, I don't know who is who though._

"Who is this Kageyama guy?" Lilian asked the question I was too scared to ask.

"The one with the pointy eyes and dark hair," Kimura described.

"He's scary…," Momo added.

I looked over and eyed the guy they described.

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

We won 1-3 sets.

It was nice to have more people cheering for us today. It really helped to energize the girls.

"Remember this feeling," Ms. Hirano said to us. "This is the feeling you get when you work your hardest and get the results you wanted."

"Interhigh is coming soon. We can't get cocky because of a practice match. The other team is only going to get stronger from now," Igarashi said with his hands behind his back. "I expect you girls to give it your all at practice now."

"HAI!" we all shouted before we dispersed.

Hinata came jumping over to Aria and me with Kageyama walking over from behind.

"Kaori-chan you were like KAPOW and Miura-chan was like BOOM!" Hinata exclaimed, confusing Aria and me.

Kageyama nodded in agreement with Hinata. "You both did good."

"Stop lying. I have a lot I need to still work on. Kaori-chan was definitely the star," Aria said, hugging me from behind.

"Really it wasn't just me. It was everyone's efforts combined," I quickly said.

"Saito-chan!" we all turned to see Lilian, Momo, Satoshi, and Kimura come over.

Lilian grabbed my cheeks and squeezed them. "How could someone so small and cute do anything like what you did?!"

 _S-Small?_

"Congrats on your win," Momo said.

"You can call me Lilian," she said, introducing herself to Aria, Kageyama, and Hinata. Momo joined the introductions with Lilian.

"You need to explain how this game works. I was lost half the time," Kimura whined to me.

I chuckled. "Next time we meet I will." Kimura patted my head and walked by me to introduce himself to my friends.

I fiddled unconsciously with my high ponytail that I pulled over my shoulder. "Hey…Satoshi. Thank you for coming. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

He rubbed the back of his neck, looking away from me. "Y-Yeah… You looked… Let's just say I saw something pretty amazing today." He reached over and grabbed my ponytail. I let my hair slip away through my fingers as he picked it up and tossed it in my face.

"Hey!" I shouted, throwing my hair behind my back.

He laughed as he walked by me to join the group. I looked at my friends as they mingled with his.

The rest of the boys' team came over to compliment me before they left.

"Saito," I turned to see my coach waving me over.

"Yes?"

"What do you think of this training regimen from now on?"

He turned his clipboard to me and I looked it over. "It looks fine, why?"

"I just wanted to get a second opinion."

 _Weirdo…_

"You know I used to be a setter when I was younger," he said out of nowhere. Well, I guess not totally out of nowhere since Machi and Rin were practicing together before we cleaned up. "You remind me of someone I used to toss to a lot…"

Before I could ask what he meant, he had already walked away to talk to Ms. Hirano.

"We're home!" I shouted into my house when Nao, Kageyama, and I entered. "Kageyama is having dinner with us tonight!"

"Dinner will be ready in ten!" she shouted back as we took off our shoes.

"I'll take your bag up," I said to Kageyama as I held my hand out to get his bag.

* * *

 **Kageyama's POV-**

While the siblings headed upstairs to put away their things I was left in the hall with nothing to do but to wander.

I walked into the living room and looked at the family photo.

 _So that's her father…_

"Kageyama?" Saito called out to me.

"Sorry. I've just... This is the first time I've seen your father."

"Yeah well…he's been away…" she responded sadly. "Come on, dinner is about ready now."

 _Are her parents divorced? Maybe he is away on business a lot?_

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

"Just in time for Interhigh training, we have a new member," Igarashi announced. "Thank you, Saito for finding someone to play as our official libero."

"Eh?" I said as my teammates thanked me, especially Fujimoto.

 _But I didn't find anyone…_

"Please introduce yourself," Igarashi said, stepping aside to reveal the tiny girl that was hiding behind him.

I gasped as the girl crossed her arms and scoffed, looking away from all of us.

 _Infirmary girl?!_

"Tanji Fumiyo," she said. "Number fourteen, libero."

None of us could speak. Some of us were trying to figure out how she would do as a libero at her height while the rest of us were hung up on her attitude.

Eventually we all introduced ourselves and our position on the team and started with practice. Fujimoto and Igarashi worked with Tanji, much to her dislike. I couldn't stay at practice long since I promised to watch Satoshi's game.

After his game, which he won, we went out to get ramen to celebrate with Kimura, Momo, and Lilian.

"How are you and Mr. Pointy Eyes guy doing?" Lilian asked me once our bowls came.

"L-Lili!" Momo quietly snapped.

"You mean Kageyama?" I asked.

"Obviously she's asking about your boyfriend," Kimura casually explained just as I took a sip of water. I turned to the side and spat out the water.

"What?!" I shouted as my face heated up. Though this could be because we were in a ramen shot where all the soups were steaming. "We're just good friends and neighbors."

"So you're single?" Kimura asked while Lilian kicked his shin underneath the table. "Ow!"

I nodded awkwardly. "Yeah."

"Have you ever considered getting in a relationship?" Lilian asked me.

I leaned back in my seat and crossed my arms. "With everything going on with volleyball…the thought never occurred to me."

"What about before you joined the team? Was there someone who caught your eye?" Kimura asked before Lilian again kicked him in the shin. "Seriously stop it!"

"Before…" I thought back to when I was against getting back into volleyball, back when I was afraid of facing Hinata. Instead of thinking to myself, I spoke out my thoughts, "There was a time when I thought my feelings for my ex-boyfriend would come back, but they didn't… Wait-"

"You've had a boyfriend before?!" Everyone at the table asked, including Satoshi.

"Who? Does he go to our school?" Kimura asked.

"You have to tell us," Lilian added.

"Umm…"

"If you're not comfortable talking about it, you don't have to," Satoshi said. "They just need to respect your privacy."

"Sorry…," Lilian and Kimura both apologized.

Trying to change the subject, Satoshi brought up volleyball to which I explained the rules for.

Everything felt like it was falling into place now.

Tanji apparently was the libero for her middle school's team, but never planned on joining in high school. She won't say why she changed her mind in the end.

Coach Igarashi seemed like a bad choice for a coach in the beginning, but over time he grew on me. Michimiya and I would talk to him a lot regarding the team. He was quite knowledgeable about volleyball. I know he told me he used to be a setter, but it never clocked before that he knew what he was doing. Practices got a lot tougher when he started coaching us.

I was still on the hunt for a manager. I talked to a few prospective students, but they weren't interested in learning about volleyball or spending their time afterschool with a bunch of girls. Satoshi didn't have any luck either.

Satoshi and Kimura would often stop by our practices while they were on water breaks. I would explain how everything worked, but it was obvious Satoshi was more interested than Kimura was.

"Imagine playing basketball with a volleyball," Kimura said, dribbling the volleyball around.

"Please stop, you look like an idiot doing that here," Aria said, chasing after him for the ball. He just laughed and dribbled the ball away from her.

"Your competition is coming up, right?" Satoshi asked.

I nodded. "It's in a week in a half now."

"Really? Ours actually start next week. I'm not expecting you to go or anything! You need to train so you can win your own matches."

"I get it, but I still feel bad."

"You went to all of my other matches already," he laughed. "I'll make sure to win for you."

"You better win after all this slacking off," I joked, punching his arm lightly. "Go back to your own practice already."

"Alright already. Shiki, let's go! Good luck everyone!"

Mayumi hopped onto my back. "Does someone have a crush on one of the most popular guys in school?"

"Quit trying to tease me, it won't work," I laughed, squirming out of Mayumi's arms.

"Of course you would say that, Ms. Popular," Mayumi said, adding a bow.

"I heard a third year confessed to you at lunch," Machi said, joining the conversation. "Who was it? I might know them."

"Another guy? Just yesterday a guy from my class came after practice and confessed to her," Suto said.

Aria came over after drinking her water. "One of the guys in my class asked me if I could introduce him to you Kaori-chan."

None of them were exaggerating. It was all true. Ever since I told Momo, Lilian, Kimura, and Satoshi that Kageyama wasn't my boyfriend I have been getting a lot of attention.

It got so bad recently that Hinata stopped eating lunch with Kageyama, Aria, and me. It just irritated him when Aria talked about it all the time and guys would call me out of class. I wanted to talk to him about it since I missed having him around at lunch, but he's been avoiding me for a change.

I never realized it before, but Hinata and I were growing apart and that didn't feel good to me.

I started getting closer to my teammates, specifically; Mayumi, Machi, Nomura, Fujimoto, Aria, Rin, Konodo, Michimiya, and Suto. Suda and Tao were girls of very few words.

Tanji was quiet for the most part, but really hostile whenever I specifically tried to talk to her. She was also pretty popular around school for her doll-like appearance. People saw her as fragile since she hid in the infirmary a lot. It was only natural when she got the nickname 'Porcelain Doll'.

Hamano always did her best to avoid dealing with me unless she had to. Even though the girls apologized, Hamano never came up to me to apologize for saying everything she did and tearing off my sleeve. I didn't expect her to either. I would be lying if I didn't admit I did my best to avoid her too. She just triggered unhappy memories for me.

* * *

 **Michimiya's POV-**

 _Class 3-2, 3-3… Ah, 3-4!_

I poked my head through the door and called out, "Sawamura." He got up and walked over to me with a curious look in his eyes.

I waved a few papers in his face. "I got the pep rally schedule for the sports clubs. Volleyball is fifth."

"Thank you, Michimiya," he said as he took the papers to look them over.

"Do you have a speech ready, Captain?" I asked, hoping I could get some inspiration myself.

He shook his head. "I've got nothing. The Interhigh preliminaries are around the corner."

"Yeah, the boys' team seems to be doing well." We stepped into the hall to get out of the doorway.

"How is the girls' team doing? I've been out of touch because we have separate gyms. You guys looked better during your practice match."

"We've been… How do I describe it? I'm not that good with being stern, but Saito-chan makes up for that. Everyone comes to morning and afterschool practices unlike before. We even got a coach now, Dr. Igarashi from the infirmary, and two new members. I sit in on strategy meetings with Saito-chan and Coach Igarashi, but sometimes it's hard for me to keep up. I'm worried that none of this will be enough and we'll lose in the first round…again…"

Sawamura's stare made me flinch. "No matter how formidable and unbeatable your opponent, you'll never win if you don't believe you can… Ah, I didn't mean to preach to you like that!"

"I'm sorry! I have a bad habit of losing confidence before a tournament!"

"I hope I'm not being presumptuous, but since you and I are both captains, I'll pretend I didn't hear any of that."

I laughed and punched him in the gut. "You're too easy on me!" I slapped my cheeks in an attempt to hide the blush I could feel creeping up my cheeks. "Alright, I'm good. Thanks!"

* * *

 **Kaori's POV-**

Since Interhigh was coming up, Kageyama spent all the free time he had to practice. Even when his practiced finished in the morning, he would still be working on some new techniques with Hinata. It got a little lonely for me in the classroom, but Satoshi started visiting more often with Kimura. They ended their morning practice around the same time as I did, so we would talk about assignments or popular things on television until Momo later came into class and joined us.

I would see Hinata in the halls during breaks reading a piece of paper. Kagayama told me Sugawara gave the first years a sheet of signals for tosses, but it seems like Hinata was having trouble trying to memorize all of them. I wanted to help him, but he started walking away from me whenever I approached him.

The next day was the school sports clubs pep rally. Each club had to come up to the stage while the captain said a few things. It was cute to see how nervous Michimiya was, especially when she took a sneak peek at her speech will reciting it. When the boys went up Hinata was instantly nervous to the point where it looked like he was about to pass out at any second.

I wish I could have shouted out to him to not think about the crowd, but I would have gotten in trouble and I didn't need all that attention on me right now.

After our last practice before Interhigh, Coach Igarashi and Ms. Hirano gathered everyone together. They gave the usual pep talk and then passed on the final talk to our captain, Michimiya who never failed to energize the team.

The plan was to clean up and take down the net after, but instead…

"After speaking with both Coach Igarashi and Hirano-sensei, we've all come to the same conclusion…," Michimiya started. "Please join me in congratulating Saito-chan, our new co-captain."

The girls cheered, minus Hamano and Tanji while I was pushed over to the front where Michimiya was.

"T-This is really sudden. Why?" I asked, embarrassed with the attention.

"Are you kidding? Look at what you've done!" Konodo spoke up. "We have new members and a coach! We won all our practice matches ever since you came."

"You really helped out with practices," Machi added.

"You didn't let me quit as a setter even though I wanted to," Rin said.

"You inspire us to get better the more we see you play," Aria said. "Right?"

"I agree!" Nomura shouted.

I looked over at Tanji. "An annoying title for an annoying girl."

I couldn't stop the tears from rolling down my face. The girls, except for a few, panicked as I slid onto the ground and cried.

Aria was the first to pull me into an embrace as the other girl I've grown closer to brought me into a group hug.

"What's the matter Kaori-chan?" Aria cooed.

"I-I'm just…r-really happy," I cried out. "T-Thank you all…for being my teammates…"

"We should be thanking you!" Michimiya joked.

"My last team wasn't as welcoming as you all were…," I explained. "They started to hate me even before I met them… They didn't like how I was moved up from the middle school league to the high school league…" I couldn't explain any further than that. Bad memories were coming back, but they were being washed away slowly by the memory I was making right now. The memory of my new team embracing me as we got ready for our official matches tomorrow.

Later that night, after telling Kageyama all about my day, I couldn't sleep. I was too excited for Interhigh. I was planning on watching the boy's matches too when they didn't conflict with our own. The group chat for the girls' team was buzzing. None of them could sleep either.

It wasn't that late yet, so I decided to call Satoshi. I found it odd that he never messaged me how the finals went on Friday, but I'm sure he was just busy with his club. They probably won and were getting ready for the next match.

I heard the phone pick up on his side as I was laying on my bed. "Hi Satoshi! Ah, I hope I didn't wake you up or anything."

"No…you didn't," he said softly. "I'm awake."

I chuckled as he tried to hide a yawn.

"Your competition starts tomorrow, right?" he asked as I rolled onto my side so that my phone would lay between my ear and my pillow. "Good luck."

"Thank you…"

"Was there something you needed?"

"No, it's just… You're talking to the new co-captain of the volleyball team."

"What? No way, that's great!"

"I didn't expect it to happen."

"Stop lying. With everything you've been doing for the team, why wouldn't you be?"

We ended up talking for an hour, but it only felt like ten minutes to me.

"Oh you never told me how things went on Friday. I'm sure you all won though."

"Actually…"

"Huh?"

"We lost."

How was I supposed to respond to this?

"…Satoshi… It's okay. You can only get stronger from here on out."

"… It's getting late. You should get some sleep before your matches tomorrow... Good night."

"Good-" He hung up.

I sighed, rubbing my face with my hands.

 _I shouldn't have brought it up…_


	7. Character Descriptions

**Karasuno Girls' Team:**

 **Coach:** _**Igarashi Soh**_ – _Karasuno Nurse/Igarashi Hospital CEO_ , clear-rimmed glasses, dark green spiky hair, lime green eyes  
 **Teacher:** _**Hirano Risa**_ – _2nd year homeroom teacher_ , wavy peach hair,  
 **Manager:** **_/unknown/_**

1\. **_Michimiya Yui_** – 3rd year, _(Ace) wing spiker_ , captain

2\. **_Konodo Rena_** – 3rd year, _middle blocker_ , light grey eyes, light brownish green hair, black eyes

3\. **_Machi Kayo_** – 3rd year, _official setter_ , tan hair with violet eyes

4\. **_Fujimoto Aya_** – 3rd year, _wing spiker/libero_ , short light brown hair, right side typically behind her ear fastened with hair pins with light brown eyes

5\. **_Nomura Erika_** – 3rd year, _middle blocker_ , black hair and light blue eyes

6\. **_Mizuno Rin_** – 2nd year, _setter_ , black hair/brown eyes

7\. **_Suto Haruna_** – 2nd year, _middle blocker_ , 5'8'' dark brown bob with light pink highlights, amber eyes

8\. **_Tao Chiyo_** – 2nd year, _wing spiker_ , stern look, mole under right eye, bleach blond hair, emerald green eyes

9\. **_Hashira Mayumi_** – 2nd year, _wing spiker_ , short black hair and dark grey eyes

10\. **_Hamano Akane_** – 2nd year, _middle blocker_ , long auburn hair and jet black eyes

11\. **_Suda Aoi_** – 1st year, _middle blocker_ , 5'9'' slender body, long red hair, brown glasses, jet black eyes, well-formed face

12\. **_Saito Kaori_** – 1st year, _wing spiker/setter_ , currently 5'0'' light brown eyes and brown hair

13\. **_Miura Aria_** – 1st year, _middle blocker_ , 5'5'' chestnut hair, black eyes, light of freckles around her nose

14\. **_Tanji Fumiyo_** – 1st year, _libero_ , 4'10'', dark pink a-cut bob with her band covering her entire forehead stopping just above her eyes, big hazel eyes

 ***Note that the number corresponding to the name is also their uniform number.**

* * *

 **Misc. Charachers:**

· **_Nakamura Satoshi_** \- 1st year, blond with amber eyes, 5'7'', basketball club

· **_Suoh Momo_** – 1st year, timid, dark gray hair, magenta eyes, yellow headband

· **_Kimura Shiki_** – 1st year, black hair, honey eyes, basketball club

· **_Lilian_** – 1st year, long red hair, light blue eyes, 5'6'', small traces of freckles under her eyes

· ** _Saito Naoko_** \- 3rd year student at Yukigaoka Middle School, light brown eyes, short and messy brown hair, in Tennis club

· **_Hattori Aika_** \- 3rd year student at Seijoh, Captain/Ace, 5'11'', raven hair, sharp chin/nose, and doe-like brown eyes, girls' volleyball

· **_Imai Miwa_** \- 1st year student at Seijoh, around Miura Aria's height, brown hair with blond tips, playful light pink eyes, girls' volleyball

· **_Smith_** ** _Jennifer_** \- 2nd year student at Hakuryo Academy, long blond hair, blue eyes, girls' volleyball

· **_Suzuki Ren_** \- 2nd year student at Hakuryo Academy, refined face, messy dirty blond hair, honey eyes, boys' volleyball

* * *

 **NOTE: I'm going to be reposting this as time goes on. Basically as new chapters give more information to need an updated character chapter to keep up with everything.**


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